Superlab Switzerland thinks scientists are ready for shared workspaces

Shared workspaces have offered an entire generation of growing businesses an attractive solution, providing flexible and affordable accommodation without the traditional burdens of commercial real estate contracts. But in some industries, businesses need more than just offices; for example, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies often need specialized laboratories to conduct the cutting-edge research that will ultimately drive their success.

This is where Superlab Switzerland comes in. It is pioneering a new type of shared workspace, in which it provides both office and laboratory space to growing biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Today the company is opening a second site, in Basel, replicating the site opened in Lausanne in 2020, and next year it will add a third site in Zurich.

“Nowadays, with advanced technology and equipment, drug discovery no longer depends on a large team, and a large number of small and medium-sized biotechnology enterprises and pharmaceutical companies are experimenting and making progress,” Xi said. Zhang, founder and CEO of the company. . “All of these companies, regardless of size, need laboratories, but the founders and CEOs of science companies don’t have the time or energy for the complex construction and operations work.”

Superlab Switzerland’s model is therefore to offload this work to them by offering companies ready-made laboratory space that they can move into immediately – and for a minimum rental period of just six months. The company also operates as a logistics and procurement provider, through which tenants of its buildings can procure any additional equipment they may need for their work, and provides a platform through which they can promote their work with clients and investors. “The idea is to give these scientists the freedom they need to focus on their creativity,” Xi says.

It is a unique model in Europe. In Boston, probably the world’s largest life sciences center, companies such as LabCentral and BioLabs are pioneering a similar approach, but Europe is uncharted territory, despite being home to some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. world and a very vast industry. In Europe, early-stage companies still often rely on laboratory space provided by the universities where they started; Growth-stage companies have little choice but to turn to investors to raise funds to build their own facilities, which could quickly begin to no longer meet their needs as they scale and Are growing.

The demand for the Superlab Suisse facilities underlines this point. The company’s premises in Lausanne are already full, while a third of the space at the new Basel site is pre-let even though the building has only just opened. This has already enabled Superlab to become profitable.

Xi says an important attraction of his approach is that biotech and pharmaceutical companies are often enthusiastic about working alongside various companies in a similar field. “We’re enabling new types of collaboration,” she says. “The atmosphere of these facilities is inspiring. »

Emmanuel Savioz, CEO and President of Tigen Pharma, one of the first tenants of Superlab Suisse, emphasizes exactly this point. “It’s a great place to work in a vibrant scientific community,” he says. “Our team at Tigen can focus on growth, supported by state-of-the-art facilities and the latest equipment. »

Dr. Rajwinder Lehal, CEO of biotechnology company Cellestia, another tenant, adds: “Superlab is exactly the place the scientific community needs: we can concentrate on our work without being distracted. »

The company believes its model is highly scalable and its future plans include ambitions to open new facilities outside of Switzerland. Life sciences hubs such as London, Hong Kong and Boston would be obvious targets for the company, which has already raised $4 million in investment and plans to unveil details of additional funding in the coming months. come.

“Anyone could start a life sciences company tomorrow,” Xi adds. “I hope our spaces can become a default address for labs – and that anyone who needs a lab thinks of us first.” »