St. Louis’s Helix Center Biotech Incubator welcomes its first two tenants after opening this June. The 17,000 square feet center offers space to early-stage life science firms in need of labs and offices. AeroValve and DealieDo are the first two companies to move into the center. AeroValve is an energy technology company that is working on commercializing an efficient pneumatic solenoid valve as a replacement for standard directional control valves. The company is lead by CEO Vicki Gonzalez and CTO Dr. Michael Goldfarb. Goldfarb is also the inventor of the valve technology. DealieDo delivers personalized coupons to users by analyzing their Facebook profiles. DealieDo is lead by Robert H. Rose, who formerly worked as the Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs for the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Helix Center Biotech Incubator was funded with a $2.5 million federal grant and a $5.1 million grant from St. Louis County. The space boasts 16 lab spaces and 23 offices. The major advantages for companies who join the incubator include the center’s proximity to other state-of-the-art life sciences facilities and strategically leveraging key partnerships that the center has nurtured. One key partnership is with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the largest independent plant science research institute in the world. The center has also partnered with the BioResearch & Development Growth (BRDG) Park, which serves emerging, post-incubator companies. The center advertises that companies will be able to access skilled bioscience lab technicians from thw St. Louis Community College’s Center for Plant and Life Science based at BRDG Park. In addition to providing workspace and proximity to talent and other technology companies, the incubator adds value to early-stage companies by offering mentoring, funding through the $1.5 million Helix Fund, and business serviced offered through the St. Louis County Economic Council. Applications are now open for other early-stage companies who are looking to gain access to the incubator’s facilities. Companies who are interested should contact the center. Images courtesy of Helix Center.
