(508) 797-4200
MBI Life & Health Sciences Business Incubator Services
MBI’s Proven Model of Business Support Services, Success, & Unmatched Affordability
As the Commonwealth’s 1st Life & Health Sciences Business Incubator, we have set the model since 2000
All-Inclusive Rent – What’s Included:
- 24/7 Individual, Private, Secured Laboratories
- Utilities (Heating, Cooling, Electric, Gas, Water, Sewer, Real Estate Taxes)
- Professional Cleaning Services
- Parking in Adjacent Lots
- 24/7 Facilities Management and Emergency Response
- Shared Equipment Access
- Access to partner CORE Equipment
- Environmental Health & Safety Compliance & Training Programs
- MassBIO Incubator Membership
- Access to Conference Rooms and Board Rooms
- Access to fellow incubator companies and academic collaborations
- Access to Informatics Center and Computing Resources.
- Personalized service and dedicated staff to help you solve problems and connect you to resources.
At MBI there are no shared facility fees, additional employee fees, maintenance fees, etc… The rent is the rent.
What’s Not Included:
- Individual Phone & Internet
- Hazardous Waste Removal
- Facility / Equipment Modifications
- Annual Hood & Biosafety Cabinet Certifications
Due to specific needs of companies, we’ve found it more cost effective for companies to order exactly what they need and nothing more. We focus on real estate, so you can focus on your SCIENCE.
What else do I need to know?
Lease Term
MBI requests a one year lease from all of its incubator tenants to prevent continuous lab turnover. Shorter term leases are evaluated on an individual basis. If at any time, the tenant outgrows their space and needs additional space, MBI will accommodate them with additional space as available. Following the year term, MBI works with companies to provide flexible terms to assist their continued growth.
Special Causes of Loss Insurance
We also require that tenants add “Special Cause of Loss” insurance to their existing policies. This policy protects your equipment and science in similar fashion to a renter’s policy for an apartment building. A sample of MBI’s inexpensive insurance requirements can be found here.
MBI Endowment Fund
An endowment fund has been created through contributions from graduate tenant companies to subsidize the rents of our current tenants. MBI seeks a voluntary 1% equity agreement from each “seed” tenant company only if the company goes public or is sold. This endowment fund allows us to keep rents low for future tenants. The fund is used solely for the future development of expanded laboratory space, shared equipment, and the continued growth and success of future life science start-ups within our incubator facility.
MBI Environmental Health & Safety Program
MBI lab rentals include access to our Environmental Health & Safety Director, saving your business from hiring an outside consultant. Developing and maintaining a compliant program can be complicated, time consuming, and expensive, MBI’s EHS support program will guide you through the process efficiently and stress free to save you money.
MBI’s Health and Safety Program will assist you in:
1. Required Plans & Trainings
2. Permitting Assistance
3. Regulatory Compliance and Inspections
4. Health and Safety Consulting
MBI’s Process for Health and Safety Compliance
1. Assess Tenant Needs
2. Assist with Permits
3. Setup Vendor Contracts (Waste, PPE, etc…)
4. Develop Compliance Plans
5. Perform Employee Trainings
6. Periodic Audits & Inspections to Maintain Programs
7. Representation During Regulatory Inspections (If Applicable)
8. Assist with Permit Renewals
9. Assist Company with Company Specific Needs (Respirators, IBC’s, etc… as needed)
The MBI Health and Safety Program was developed to keep our tenants in compliance, focused on their science, and to minimize their initial overhead costs
I would like to commend MBI for their excellent Health and Safety program. Here at Janus Biotherapeutics we have worked with Michele Crawford to institute safe lab practices and to put in place the various state and city licenses necessary to operate a small biotech business. In addition the classes on safety that Michele conducts on a regular basis keep us up to date with regulations and safety issues. We have found Michele to be a pleasure to work with and have found her to very helpful and knowledgeable. This program, had we needed to institute one of our own, would have required an expenditure of time and money which is, as is the case in most startups, in short supply.
MBI Health & Safety Program Details
1. Required Plans & Trainings
- OSHA Chemical Hygiene Program
- MDEP Hazardous Waste Regulations
- OSHA Emergency Evacuation Plan
- OSHA Blood borne Pathogen Standard
- NIOSH /CDC Biosafety Guidelines
- Respiratory Protection
- Radiation Safety (MDPH RCP registered Radiation Safety Consultant)
- DOT Hazardous Materials Shipping
2. Permitting Assistance
- Obtaining licensing and permits (Local/ State/ Federal)
- City of Worcester Flammable Liquid/ Hazardous Materials storage permit
- City of Worcester Recombinant DNA permit
- MA Department of Environmental Protection hazardous waste generator Identification number
- Upper Blackstone Wastewater permit
- Radiation License with MA Department of Public Health
- Contracts with vendors to pick up hazardous waste & biological waste
- Management of documentation such as hazardous waste manifests, medical tracking papers and training certifications
3. Regulatory Compliance and Inspections
- Maintain chemical inventories
- Conduct lab inspections
- Periodic laboratory inspections and compliance audits to identify and correct and deficiencies to prepare you for potential regulatory visits.
- Oversee programs for hazardous waste management and disposal
- Environmental Health and Safety Compliance
- Local, State, and Federal Occupational Safety
- Environmental regulations
4. Health and Safety Consulting
- Provide technical assistance with any other company health and safety issue.
To learn more about MBI’s health and safety requirements, please fill out the MBI Prospective Tenant Interview form and submit to our Health and Safety Director, Michele at mcrawford@massbiomed.org. Michele will contact you to answer any questions you may have.