As part of a broader strategy for building the region as a hub for biotech and life sciences, the City of Roanoke and Carilion Clinic have approved a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a biotechnology incubator.
Known as RoVa Labs at Carilion Clinic, the incubator will support the growth of research spinoffs and start-up companies as they work to commercialize groundbreaking research.
“Roanoke is a hub for science and research and a place where life sciences entrepreneurs, researchers, and startups can get the necessary support, collaboration, and tools needed to innovate and grow,” said Roanoke City Manager Valmarie Turner.
RoVa Labs is in the heart of the Roanoke Innovation Corridor at 1030 South Jefferson Street, a building previously occupied by Carilion, which partnered with the city on the building’s transformation and collaborative use of the new space.
“The shared lab space will attract existing and start-up businesses in the life sciences, biotechnology, and healthcare sectors,” said Carilion Executive Vice President and CFO Don Halliwill. “Building the space is just the first step in creating an innovative gathering place for our region’s greatest minds to collaborate with those who have promising new ideas about exciting and challenging projects.”
The MOU brings together Carilion and the City of Roanoke in a collaborative effort with the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA), Virginia Western Community College, and Virginia Tech. The collaboration reinforces the bridges that connect higher education, health services, and industry, bringing together cross-jurisdictional public and private resources to become the region’s first partnership of its kind to manage and develop biotech programming.
“The outstanding forward-thinking that will happen in the labs will link education at all levels to start-ups and business commercialization with the infrastructure to accomplish it,” said Amy White, Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Virginia Western Community College. “This project is a model of how to ensure that we’re growing a comprehensive plan for talent and business development that keeps people and jobs in this region.”
Initially using just over half of the 40,000 square foot facility, RoVa Labs will provide access to multiple resources in a single convenient location to support research and commercialization across the region, the Commonwealth, and beyond. Carilion Clinic Innovation (CCI) is one of the building’s first tenants. CCI’s work includes helping Carilion employees with unique ideas for improving healthcare and connecting them to innovation partners like Virginia Tech and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
“We are very excited about the collaboration between our organizations and its potential to support translational research and improve health, not only in Virginia but across the globe,” said Michael Friedlander, Virginia Tech’s vice president for health sciences and technology and executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “These efforts also lay the groundwork for building an even stronger scientific, technical, and professional biotech workforce in this part of the commonwealth.”
“This collaboration represents a powerful investment in the future of health care in our region,” said Lee A. Learman, dean of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “By integrating innovation, research, and clinical insight in the heart of the Roanoke Innovation Corridor, we are creating new opportunities for our students to learn how discovery moves from the lab to the bedside. This environment will help us educate physicians who not only provide exceptional care, but who are prepared to lead, innovate and serve the evolving needs of our community.”
RoVa Labs features include:
- Private and open wet-lab suites with benches, sinks, gas/vacuum, and emergency systems.
- Shared equipment, including biological safety cabinets, CO2 incubators, shaker/incubators, refrigerated centrifuges, freezer, cold room, water purification, and basic analytical tools.
- Prototyping and medical device support, including light fabrication benches, small-form 3D printing, and introductions to the region’s certified contract manufacturers.
- Innovation Studio, a specialized commercialization launchpad that provides startups with advanced prototyping tools, strategic mentorship, and resources to accelerate the transition from breakthrough bench research to market-ready solutions.
- Team space, including furnished offices, huddle rooms, an event lounge, and phone rooms.
- Operational support, including biohazardous/regulated waste streams; chemical inventory templates; Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) onboarding; and a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) start pack.
“The launch of RoVa Labs is a template for collaboration between community partners, including Roanoke, Carilion Clinic, the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, Virginia Western Community College, and Virginia Tech,” said Marc Nelson, Director of Economic Development for the City of Roanoke. “Our collective efforts to identify the needs of the ecosystem will ensure the needs of our startups and life sciences companies are met for years to come.”
The City of Roanoke received $15.7 million in 2023 from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to create shared lab space in the building that Carilion contributed as matching local funding. The City facilitated and managed the project and contributed a $1.9 million match through American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The project culminates a GO Virginia-funded project that identified the need for biotech sector lab space and access to industry experts and mentoring, which included construction of a pilot lab facility in Blacksburg, which opened in 2023.
“This space will serve as a premier launchpad for regional startups and a magnet for outside investment,” said Erin Burcham, RBIA Chief Executive Officer. “By pairing RoVa Labs’ critical infrastructure with the specialized startup programming that early-stage biotech companies require, we’re carrying out a proven blueprint for regional economic transformation. We haven’t just built labs; we’re building an ecosystem where life sciences companies can scale and compete globally.”
RoVa Labs is based on elite incubators nationwide that provide specialized labs and high-touch mentorship that bridge the gap between academic discovery and commercial viability. RoVa Labs’ “Tier 1” capabilities allow the Roanoke-Blacksburg region to provide a competitive, lower-cost alternative to saturated markets, addressing “brain drain” and keeping Virginia-born intellectual property in the Commonwealth.
RoVa Labs is expected to create 250 jobs within five years.
For more information, visit RoVa Labs at Carilion Clinic.
