Want A Biotech Lab? This Start Up Is Revolutionizing The Bioeconomy With On Demand Lab Space.

The age of biotechnology is here. Products across a broad range of markets are made with biology, and conscious consumers demand a level of sustainability that only biomanufacturing can provide. The next generation of therapies for human health and wellness are biologics. Even the US government has taken notice with the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative.

This movement has been enabled by breakthroughs in the ability to read and write DNA, creating the field of Synthetic Biology. Many have compared the revolution in synthetic biology to the revolution in computer technologies – and in fact our ability to write DNA has accelerated faster than Moore’s Law, which describes how quickly the power of computer processing has increased. However, unlike information technologies, biotechnology requires “wet lab” space, with appropriate equipment and facilitates to grow and research the organisms that the industry uses.

Biotech is growing out of the academic wet labs that created it and into an industry driven by entrepreneurship. The infrastructure that will empower this next generation of biocontributors is currently burgeoning around the world. Biolab creation is now a successful business model, with new organizations supported by copious public and venture funding.

Many science-as-a-service companies perform wetlab research on contract in their own facilities. For example, Strateos provides a ‘Science-as-a-Service’ model with their Robotic Cloud Lab, combining automation and machine learning to enable biological discovery from the comfort of your laptop.

Ginkgo Bioworks provides similar services, and has deployed multiple “biofounderies” that automate workflows. In October last year, Ginkgo launched the CDK (Cell Development Kit) program. Start ups can partner with Ginkgo through Cell Development Kits and leverage their CodeBase (biological parts repertoire) and high-throughput automated robots, reducing the technical risk of the R&D pipeline and increasing the startup survival rate.

Culture Biosciences provides a cloud bioreactor platform that gives researchers full control of experimental design for pilot scale R&D and allowing for real-time monitoring and advanced data visualization from anywhere in the world.

Community biolabs like GenSpace NYC provide wetlab space training for potential entrepreneurs and tinkerers to realize projects through their own labor, democratizing access to bioengineering.

But all this infrastructure takes time to create. So Ivan R. Jaubert founded Dupla Bio to make wetlabs easier to deploy. Dupla provides modular biolabs on-demand, providing decentralized and affordable lab space across the United States with a single purpose in mind – energizing the bioeconomy to create a future built with biology that restores the planet and secures human wellbeing.

In his own words, Jaubert says: “Individuals empowered with tools in hand to tinker with the freedom of making mistakes towards solving a real problem that matters for them is what really unleashes innovation. Outsourcing or partnering with cloud labs and remote biofoundries solves the optimization of biology, but not the creative process to get the ground-level research for a proof-of-concept. Access to physical lab space is key for a flourishing bioeconomy. It’s crucial that founders and biocurious get hands-on early on the Design-Built-Test process to find the ‘a-ha moment.’”

Dupla is pioneering new ways to deploy wetlab space on demand. Their vision is to create a booking platform to simplify the biolab acquisition process and offer built-to-suit solutions with an equipment/furniture drag-and-drop feature. “Customers will be paying exactly for what they need, with affordable plans that prioritize flexibility,” adds Jonathan Rix, Dupla Bio’s Co-Founder and COO.

They are also innovating new configurations for biolabs that outperform traditional bricks-and-mortar lab space development, such as the BioDome. Ivan R. Jaubert explains “After exploring different modular configurations including containerized and mobile biolabs (that we still plan to use for different purposes), we concluded that geodesic domes provide competitive benefits in cost and speed for the biohubs. Moreover, the dome represents a futuristic vision. From Mars settlements to dome cities under the water. The future of the Biological Age is here. Now it’s the time for the BioDomes.”

Dupla’s vision is to create community-driven biohubs. “Starting a synthetic biology company is hard and going alone is not the best option. Belonging to a community of like-minded individuals that support your cause is crucial to last the long mile. Knowledge accumulates in communities, sharing resources is crucial to keep expenses low, and being surrounded by people working towards a similar goal increases motivation.” Dupla Bio is creating synthetic biology hubs harnessing a sense of community in their DNA.

In contrast with traditional lab space, modular units break down large and centralized clusters into small pieces. This flexibility allows Dupla Bio to provide lab space in underrepresented localities. According to CBRE, > 60% of US commercial lab space is concentrated in 3 cities (Boston, San Francisco and San Diego). Dupla Bio sees a great opportunity to decentralize this inventory. Jonathan adds, “Proximity is key for developing a diverse pool of biocontributors, and diversity is key for fostering innovation. We plan to expand to emerging hubs besides Boston and San Francisco”

The ecosystem for developing biotechnology continues to grow at a rapid pace, and the growing availability of biolab space opens opportunities to entrepreneurs around the world to create the next generation of bioproducts.

Thank you to Lauren Dermody for additional research and reporting on this article.