Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is withdrawing its support for its JLabs innovation laboratory space in Toronto by the end of this year, leaving the MaRS Discovery District and the University of Toronto to seek a new partner.
As first revealed by Endpoints News earlier this month, the move is reportedly part of a larger scaleback of JLabs that also includes leaving its Houston and Washington, D.C. facilities.
The University of Toronto will keep the lab space “thriving until a new partner can be found.”
MaRS CEO Grace Lee Reynolds confirmed to BetaKit in an email statement that the pharma giant will no longer operate behind the lab it helped found in 2016, and that the incubator is working alongside the University of Toronto to identify a new delivery partner who can help provide mentorship, resources, and commercialization support for early-stage health ventures.
Lee Reynolds said that the lab space “has played a vital role in advancing Canada’s health innovation.”
“This kind of support helps turn academic research into real-world impact, as we’ve seen with companies like Intrepid Labs,” Lee Reynolds added. “Canada needs more of this kind of support, not less.”
When reached for comment, Johnson & Johnson spokesperson Angelique Navarro did not explain why the company was pulling out. She noted that the firm “routinely evaluates our innovation strategy and adjusts our approach in the markets we operate to ensure we are delivering the greatest impact to patients.”
Leah Cowen, University of Toronto’s vice-president of research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, told BetaKit in an email statement that the university will keep the lab space “thriving until a new partner can be found.” According to the JLabs website, there are around 30 startups that call JLabs Toronto home.
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Johnson & Johnson opened the 40,000-sq. ft. Toronto space nine years ago in partnership with MaRS and the University of Toronto to support up to 50 early-stage pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer, and digital health startups with lab space, programs, and potential investment partners. The space was also the first of its kind outside of the United States, supported by a $19.4-million investment from Ontario’s then-Liberal government.
There are now 11 active JLabs sites around the world, including international sites in Shanghai and Singapore, according to the JLabs website. More than 350 participating JLabs companies have struck at least one deal or partnership with Johnson & Johnson.
This past October, the Ontario government launched the $146-million second phase of its life sciences strategy to establish the province as “a global biomanufacturing and life science hub.” The investment included a wet labs program meant to address the shortage of specialized space for health innovation research and development in the province. A fall 2023 report from commercial real estate group CBRE stated that only 0.6 percent of the 12.3 million square feet of lab space available in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is vacant.
Feature image courtesy Johnson & Johnson.