CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN)
and LabCentral today announced that the nomination process to
submit proposals to receive an Amgen-sponsored LabCentral Golden
Ticket is open for interested life sciences and biotech startup
companies. LabCentral is an innovative, shared laboratory space
designed as a launchpad for premier high-impact life sciences and
biotech startups. As one of LabCentral's platinum sponsors, Amgen
can nominate up to two early-stage companies each year to take up
residence in LabCentral's Kendall Square facilities in Cambridge, Mass.
"Opening the nomination process for the next Golden Ticket
winners is always an exciting time for Amgen," said Aine Hanly, vice president of Process
Development and Amgen Massachusetts site head. "We enjoy learning
about the innovative research taking place at early-stage companies
throughout Massachusetts, with the
expectation to reward the ones with the most promise and potential
to thrive and move their science forward into solutions."
"We're thrilled that Amgen is continuing its strong commitment
to our startup community through support of our Golden Ticket
program," said Johannes Fruehauf,
M.D., Ph.D., cofounder and president, LabCentral. "When you speak
with previous winners, a common refrain is how the Golden Ticket
ends up being even more of an accelerant than they expected. The
strong mentorship and advice they receive from the Amgen team is
invaluable: it lets them avoid obstacles and meet milestones more
efficiently."
The 2017 Golden Ticket nomination process opened on Oct. 6, 2017. During this round, Amgen will
sponsor up to two promising life sciences and biotech startup
companies to reside in LabCentral's facilities. The Golden Ticket
represents one year of bench space for one scientist, including
benefit of LabCentral's shared infrastructure and services (such as
conference rooms, permits, shared equipment and facilities,
participation in LabCentral training modules and seminars).
Interested companies should send non-confidential company
presentations for consideration to
www.surveymonkey.com/r/AmgenGoldenTickets by Nov. 3, 2017.
Since the collaboration launched in 2014, Amgen has awarded
Golden Tickets to Novopyxis, Cocoon Biotech, Platelet Biogenesis,
Holobiome and Torus Therapeutics.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking
the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious
illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering
innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools
like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease
and understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and
leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health
outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology
pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the
world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached
millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline
of medicines with breakaway potential.
For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us
on www.twitter.com/amgen.
About LabCentral (www.labcentral.org;
twitter @labcentral)
LabCentral is a first-of-its-kind shared laboratory workspace in
the heart of the Kendall Square, Cambridge, biotech innovation hub. Designed as
a launchpad for high-potential life-sciences and biotech startups,
it offers everything startups need to begin laboratory operations
on day one and move their science forward faster and more
cost-efficiently. This includes: fully permitted laboratory and
office space, first-class facility and administrative support,
skilled laboratory personnel, a domain-relevant expert speaker
series ‒ as well as the other critical services and support. A
private, nonprofit institution, LabCentral's first site opened in
2013, thanks to a capital grant from the Massachusetts Life
Sciences Center, with support from its real-estate partner,
MIT. Founding sponsors include
Triumvirate Environmental and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. To
accommodate demand for its growing startups, LabCentral, with
support from Pfizer, Inc., plans to open LabCentral 610 in
December 2017. In 2018, LabCentral will have capacity to
serve a total of ~450 scientists and entrepreneurs in about 66
companies across its two-building campus.
Contact:
Amgen, Massachusetts
Jennifer Bianco, (401) 392-8815
biancoj@amgen.com
LabCentral, Massachusetts
Caroline Grossman, (781)
771-5579
cgrossman@labcentral.org
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SOURCE Amgen