Janssen Labs, part of Janssen R&D, plans to open Janssen Labs @South San Francisco, a new 30,000-square-foot, standalone operation based in South San Francisco, Calif. The new location will accommodate up to 50 independent, emerging companies to be co-located with staff from Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Like the flagship Janssen Labs in San Diego, Janssen Labs @South San Francisco will include a combination of shared and private lab and office spaces and feature value-added solutions including operational support, education and business services. Janssen Labs @South San Francisco is scheduled to open at the end of the year.

Janssen Labs also, in collaboration with the Johnson & Johnson Innovation center in Boston, selected three emerging companies that will be awarded $50,000 each to become a part of the Janssen Labs @LabCentral community for one year, located in the Kendall Square biotech hub in Cambridge, Mass.

"Our goal is to improve the investment profile of life science companies by drastically reducing the cost and time to market," said Melinda Richter, head of Janssen Labs. "What started as an experiment has evolved into a proven, comprehensive model that is expanding. Ultimately, success is to bring more solutions to patients that need them."

Janssen Labs currently hosts 53 life science companies across its three incubators located in San Diego, San Francisco (Janssen Labs @QB3) and Boston (Janssen Labs @LabCentral). Janssen Labs in San Diego opened its doors in January 2012, offering emerging life science companies modular wet lab units and office space, as well as shared core laboratory equipment and business facilities. The flagship incubator has since expanded to add a concept lab offering single bench spaces, as well as an open collaboration office area designed to provide a high-energy space where entrepreneurs can interact and exchange ideas.

Janssen Labs @South San Francisco also will host staff of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center in California who catalyze collaborations between regional innovators and the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Based in Menlo Park, the Johnson & Johnson Innovation center in California is home to a team of business, science and transaction experts who are focused on identifying and building novel early-stage collaborations with emerging companies, entrepreneurs and academic centers across western North America.

Janssen Labs currently is accepting applications from biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, consumer and digital health companies for all of its sites, including the South San Francisco incubator.