Standing at 18 stories high with lush green grass walkways and a canopy of trees providing shade for outside benches, Dallas’ Pegasus Park is a dream office location. On Tuesday, two new tenants were announced with plans to occupy Biotech+, a shared laboratory and office space in the new Pegasus Park development.
Aakha Biologics and ReCode Therapeutics will be the inaugural tenants at Biotech+. The facility is scheduled to open in mid to late December.
Operated by BioLabs, a Cambridge-based medical co-working startup, the Biotech+ facility is a 40,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art lab and office space designed for companies working on creating cures or treatments for diseases. According to its website, there are plans to also launch an accelerator program that would bring international healthcare startups into the space to mentor and eventually graduate from the Biotech+ facility into an independent location in the DFW metro.
“We are excited to launch operations in North Texas to support promising life science startups. The decision of these two fast-growing companies to place their bets on Dallas underlines the region’s attraction for qualified startup founders and their teams, and we look forward to supporting and helping them advance their science to benefit patients,” Johannes Fruehauf, CEO and president of BioLabs, said in a statement.
Aakha is a medical research company focused on developing therapeutic treatments against tumors. It is led by Hemanta Baruah who has an extensive background in medical research. The company recently moved its headquarters from Boston to Dallas to occupy the new co-working lab space, according to the statement.
Founded in 2015, ReCode Therapeutics focuses on developing non-viral delivery for various therapeutic applications. Most notably, one of its non-viral platforms is used to treat cystic fibrosis, a respiratory disease that fills the lungs with mucus and other liquids. The company, which recently raised an oversubscribed $80 million Series B round, is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, but also has a Dallas office.
“We are delighted with the location, quality of office and lab space, scientific community and amenities offered by BioLabs. It’s a great fit for us as we concentrate on the company’s proprietary packaging and delivery of genetic medicines to targeted cells, tissues and organs,” David Lockhart, ReCode CEO, said in a statement.
Gabby Everett, site director for BioLabs at Pegasus Park, told Built In that while ReCode Therapeutics and Aakha Biologics are more established medical startups, they will be essential in helping establish an ecosystem at Biotech+. The two startups will also benefit future companies who get accepted into the facility, Everett said.
“Both Aakha and ReCode have a national footprint. Their interest in the growing Dallas biotech community validates the region as the next hub,” Everett added.
At the facility, Aakha and Recode will get access to state-of-the-art medical equipment such as centrifuges, cold storage, digital imagining stations, digital and fluorescent microscopes, among other equipment, according to the BioLabs’ website.
Pegasus Park was developed by Dallas real estate firm Lyda Hill Philanthropies and J. Small Investments. Besides hosting biotech companies the development also seeks to attract non-profit companies and “social impact tenants” and will offer subsidies for those companies.
