Life-science companies seek to create awareness

Expanding life-sciences companies in Northern Colorado, some making significant headway in attracting venture capital to fuel their expansion, are hoping that their demand for quality lab space will gain the attention of developers seeking to do business in the sector.

That’s what happened in the Boulder Valley, where millions of square feet of commercial biotech space is under development. Developers from around the nation got wind of the demand, and suddenly multiple projects were in the works, said Elyse Blazevich, CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association.

Several executives from lifescience companies gathered Tuesday morning at the Better Business Bureau Serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming to participate in Bizwest’s Life Sciences CEO Roundtable. Among the issues facing the industry: suitable lab space, especially as companies outgrow the incubator spaces offered through Innosphere in Fort Collins.

“The fact that demand was outweighing supply got national attention,” Blazevich said of the Boulder/broomfield experience.

“So investors were putting their money here (in the Boulder Valley.) If there’s more federal funding, more investment, more companies being developed that have a need for that next space, developers will come here (Noco), too.

Rose Nash, chief operating officer for Burst-dx, a company that is working to produce lowcost diagnostic tools for the health care industry, said incubator space in Northern Colorado is “alive and well. It’s really that next step when we grow out of our space. There really isn’t much available in Northern Colorado,” she said, noting that lab space can be very expensive to build. She did note that lab space without all the bells and whistles that Innosphere has offered is suitable for some applications and convertible spaces like that are available.

“My focus is on Fort Collins, because it provides the lifestyle where I want to live,” Nash said.

Scott Wiley, CEO of Growcentia, which relocated from Fort Collins to Loveland last year, said an exhaustive search for space in Fort Collins turned up nothing.

“We went straight to the developer, Mcwhinney, and it came and listened to us. It brought a

CHRISTOPHER WOOD — BIZWEST Participants in the Bizwest Life Sciences CEO Roundtable were, from left, Lisa Padilla, Beryl Therapeutics; Ashley Cawthorn, Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti; Darin Atteberry, Elevations Credit Union; Jamie Haggard, Green Sun Medical; Scott Wiley, Growcentia; Mike Grell, Plante Moran; Elyse Blazevich, Colorado Biosciences Association; Rose Nash, Burst-dx; Lyndsey Linke, SIVEC Biotechnologies. Not pictured but attending by Zoom, Kris Buchanan, Reddrop DX; Alan Rudolph, CSU Research; Bill Wick, Vivaldi Biosciences; and David Kerr, Berg Hill.