Contributed by Prince William County
June 11, 2014 – Prince William County, Va. – Prince William County today marked the official opening of the Prince William Science Accelerator and formally welcomed its first tenant ISOThrive LLC (ISOThrive), a start-up life sciences company.
Anchored in Innovation Park near George Mason University, the Prince William Science Accelerator is the only public-private commercially available property featuring wet laboratory spaces in Northern Virginia. It is designed as an innovative environment for entrepreneurial research and product development, and works in conjunction with existing industry and universities to add a further key element to the growing life sciences ecosystem in Prince William County.
“This is yet another testimony to Prince William County’s commitment to developing the life sciences industry in our county,” said Corey Stewart, Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors during the Ceremony.
“We’re pleased to not only welcome ISOThrive, but delighted to provide an opportunity for this new high-tech start-up company, and for the future tenants who will locate here. We look forward to the Accelerator maturing into a full-fledged center of economic growth that will attract high paying jobs to Prince William County,” added Stewart.
“The Commonwealth of Virginia is thrilled to see that the vision for this science accelerator has become a reality with the first tenant taking up residence in this innovative wet lab.” said Ms. Syd Dorsey, Advisor for Small Business Development, Office of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Commonwealth of Virginia, speaking at the event.
“Being the first tenant of the Prince William Science Accelerator has already allowed us to establish key research collaboration with George Mason University to further develop the science of supporting a healthy microbiome,” said Jack Oswald, CEO of ISOThrive. “Together we are working on the most important breakthrough in human health of the last 20 years.”
The 9,126 sq. ft. brand new facility houses a total of nine newly built wet laboratory spaces, ranging from 435 sq. ft. to 1,141 sq. ft. in a variety of floor plan layouts and common lab equipment. Each wet lab space is individually secured, has emergency power outlets for critical storage equipment and configured with a front office and access to two conference rooms and a common kitchen/office, receiving area and parking space allocations.
Other resident life sciences companies in Innovation Park include: American Type Culture Collection; Corning Life Sciences; Virginia Forensics Lab; the Mason/NIH Level-3 Biomedical Research Laboratory; and Mason’s Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine.
For information about locating in the Accelerator, please contact: Michael Aron at: (703) 792-5516 or maron@pwcgov.org or visit the website.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Located less than 20 miles from the nation’s capital, Prince William County encompasses a total area of 348 miles and is the 2nd largest county in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Prince William County’s favorable blend of large land parcels, multi-use zoned sites, incentives, reliable power and ample fiber optic availability coupled with the lowest programmable computer taxes in the region, make it an ideal location for businesses seeking a location in the Mid-Atlantic region.
- 75% of Northern Virginia’s 1.1 million workers live within a 30 minute one-way commute to the center of Prince William County during rush hour.
- Prince William County provides access to an outstanding talent pool of highly-skilled, culturally diverse labor; 41% of the workforce has 4-year degrees.
- A pro-business community, Prince William County ranked #8 nationwide for job growth by CNN Money. Over the past decade, the County has experienced a 57% increase in the number of business establishments.
- Prince William County carries a AAA bond rating from all three of the major credit ratings agencies (Fitch, Moody’s and S&P).
- In March 2014, Prince William County and George Mason University formally opened the Simulation and Game Institute in Innovation Park. SGI offers cutting edge game design research and development, simulation and game training and certification; visualization and simulation software and rapid-prototyping development.
