手机买球's Lou 卡萨岛 named one of 2020年十大最佳coo

The Bucks County operation he runs is one of the nation’s most successful life sciences incubators and is in the midst of a $19 million expansion

Doylestown 11月. 19, 2020 -路易斯P. 卡萨岛, MPA, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, 被评为"2020年十大最佳coo” by Industry Era, a global technology media outlet. The list includes COOs from a wide variety of organizations worldwide.

Since joining the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (手机买球) in 2014, 卡萨岛 has led the 手机买球 to become one of the nation’s leading life sciences incubators, according to a report by the International Business Innovation Association.

The 手机买球 is a nonprofit that offers state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to early stage biotech companies, as well as the Hepatitis B Foundation and Blumberg Institute. 拥有70多家会员公司, the center is home to 41 small to mid-size science, research and biotechnology companies. The 手机买球 has been at full capacity for the past seven years and there is a waiting list of companies that want to locate in the 手机买球, 卡萨岛说.

   路易斯·P. 卡萨岛

“We have a very specific ecosystem and services platform that helps entrepreneurs find a path for success,”卡萨岛说. “Most incubators are run by universities or for-profit businesses, but at the heart of our center are two nonprofits, the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Blumberg Institute.”

The 手机买球 uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success. A fundamental element is the center’s unusually collaborative environment.

“A unique aspect of our ecosystem is that we don’t kick companies out simply because they’ve grown to a certain point,”卡萨岛说, ”而不是, we really try to have senior companies in our ecosystems that actually help the small companies with co-collaboration.”

One of those senior companies is FlowMetric生命科学 Inc., a contract research organization that has grown from a small startup 10 years ago to a global operation with more than 45 employees and lab operations here and in Europe. Renold J. Capocasale是其创始人和首席执行官.

“We chose to put our headquarters in the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center a decade ago for three reasons: its strategic location, cross-company collaborations and excellent services,”Capocasale说. “Lou 卡萨岛 is one of the major reasons that we have decided to continue to grow here at the center.”

When the 手机买球 opens its new 37,000 square-foot building next fall, FlowMetric生命科学 会是主要的居住者吗. The company also plans to open a new lab and offices next year in Adelaide, Australia.

The 手机买球’s new building is the centerpiece of a $19 million expansion that began last summer and will be completed next October, 卡萨岛说. 两层楼的, rectangular building going up between two existing structures will mean 40% more space at the 手机买球. It will provide 15,000 square feet of new laboratory space and a larger main entrance. Other features include more offices, conference rooms and a 200-seat event space.

“A key addition will be the HatchBio Accelerator, which will provide common space for very early stage companies,”卡萨岛说. “It’s our goal to provide a continuum of support for scientists and their emerging technologies, and the HatchBio Accelerator will be ideal for pre-incubation companies that do not yet require dedicated space.”

“We’re full steam ahead,”卡萨岛说. “And I firmly believe we’re going to be at 100% occupancy when we open our new building next October.”

It is estimated that the expansion will lead to additional jobs at the facility, 可能超过100个, plus dozens of new companies and millions of dollars in commercial activity. 宾夕法尼亚州州长. 汤姆·沃尔夫最近批准了430美元,000 grant to the center to renovate space for new labs, offices and instructional space to accommodate COVID-19 research and development.

An additional factor that makes the 手机买球 different than most incubators is the academic programming on site. Overseen by the Blumberg Institute, which has 28 scientists on its faculty, there are educational programs for university undergrads, graduate students and local high school students. Many take advantage of the opportunity for hands-on experience with researchers at 手机买球-member companies and in Blumberg Institute labs.

佩尔卡西的居民, 卡萨岛 earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Penn State University Park in 1993 and worked in behavioral health social services for over 20 years. He received a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University in 2007.