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| Paul Stoffels, J&J chief scientific officer |
Building on its growing JLABS network, Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) is opening another biotech incubator, this one in Europe. Dubbed JLINX, it will be housed at J&J's Janssen campus in Beerse, Belgium, and is set to open this summer.
J&J's venture arm will provide the initial funding for JLINX, and the company plans to seek funding from external investors. It will co-manage the site with bioqube ventures, which will provide a management team to run the day-to-day operations, according to the statement. The bioqube team will oversee venture funding and be involved in recruiting new companies to set up at JLINX.
While JLABS has been steadily asserting its presence in the U.S., with sites in San Diego, San Francisco and Boston, it first turned its sights abroad in September, announcing its first international site in Toronto. JLINX will be J&J's first incubator outside of North America.
In tandem with the February 2015 launch of Janssen's Human Microbiome Institute, JLINX will focus on human microbiome research as well as other innovation in pharma and cross-disciplinary healthcare solutions, the company said.
"We are confident that JLINX will create a vibrant ecosystem of start-ups and entrepreneurs with access to the world-class expertise and technology at the Janssen Campus in Belgium and within our global network," said Dr. Paul Stoffels, J&J's chief scientific officer, in the statement. "This new initiative has been designed to foster the creative start-up culture in Europe that can accelerate breakthroughs."
- here's the statement