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Biotech startups and entrepreneurs can look no further than Jacksonville with the grand opening of the Mayo Clinic Innovation Exchange this morning. Located in the new 75,000-square-foot Discovery & Innovation Building on the Jacksonville hospital campus, the LSI paves the way for collaboration among science professionals, students and health care and biotech startups that can benefit from being located on Mayo Clinic’s campus.

Designed to serve as the commercial bridge that connects research labs to the clinical market, the LSI provides support through three components:

• Idea Lab – focused on problem solving and ideation, the Idea Lab facilitates the translation of discoveries into product design;
• Incubator – the incubator brings together design teams to create business models and new companies, and then provides wet labs, office space and business services to nurture the growth those companies; and
• Accelerator – the accelerator provides access to the clinical, business management and financial resources required to grow portfolio companies quickly.

The LSI will provide its portfolio companies with access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, education and world-renowned medical thought leadership – including opportunities to collaborate with Mayo Clinic Florida research labs, its Center for Individualized Medicine, Center for Regenerative Medicine and its Clinical Services practice.

Earlier this summer, Vic Nole, director of the LSI, presented more information about the incubator during a North Florida Business Roundtable panel titled “Harnessing Innovation 2.0.”  During the discussion, Nole stated, “We’ll help the Mayo innovators bring their products to market with education and network them into the external environment. We’ll take them from paper to prototype to business model to product.”

Innovation centers are quickly becoming more commonplace in the region. Another such example is the University of North Florida’s newly opened Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Located in the core of downtown Jacksonville, the center serves as an idea-vetting place for companies wanting to start operations in the city or region.

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is described as a “living-learning lab” and provides a resource where potential business developers can get the guidance and support they need to turn an idea into a product.