High-tech Laboratories – The New Spaces in Demand on the Gold Coast

High-tech laboratories and technical spaces are in high demand from life sciences organisations developing next-generation health, biotechnology, and scientific innovations. Demand is coming from a growing sector of start-ups, scale-ups, and a variety of new health science organisations – not just the traditional large research institutes. As a result, there is an increasing need for new scientific and technical space developments that can cater to flexible usage, shared and leased space, and foster collaborations with health, science, and technology innovators.

The Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (known as the Precinct or the GCHKP) is a beacon for these types of organisations, offering a broad range of technical facilities in a collaborative innovation community. Facilities within the Precinct include clinical and biomedical laboratories, highly secure PC3 containment labs, industrial and engineering labs, specialised micro and nano-technology clean room facilities, and advanced 3D printing and design laboratories.

There is space available for further developments to meet demand – for both developers of additional specialist and technical spaces, as well as for the offices, collaboration spaces, and services around them. Within the GCHKP, the remaining development-ready land and lease-ready space are within Lumina, the final development stage of the Precinct, and the dedicated location for health and science businesses wanting to join the wider innovation Precinct.

Read on to find out more about the world-class facilities already within the Precinct open for access enquiries from tenants, and external commercial and industry partners. Each of these is at the cutting edge of health science and innovation and supports a wide range of life science organisations.

And there is space for more.

ADaPT is a ‘one-stop-shop for high-tech design, with advanced 3D printing technologies involving multiple metal, polymer, and bio-printing capabilities

ADaPT (Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies Institute) is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of next-generation medical technologies and advanced manufacturing across industries, including Spacetech. As a flagship facility of Griffith University’s, ADaPT offers a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment and facilities that integrate Griffith’s R&D equipment to enable advanced design and prototyping.

Their 3D design and printing are one of the most exciting, future-forward innovations within ADaPT. Referred to as ‘Additive manufacturing’ (or AM) for medical devices, this technology allows health professionals to accelerate the pace of innovation, to improve patient care faster. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ADaPT 3D printers were used to help manufacture protective equipment for frontline health workers across Australia. Today, they have been used to print cellular nerve bridges to help develop a treatment for spinal cord injury, and many more complex, cutting-edge medical interventions designed to help patients.

ADaPT also facilitates access to nano-technology equipment, and computer-aided design (CAD) suites for bio-engineering work, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

The Institute for Glycomics has R&D labs that lead to the discovery of drugs, vaccines, and advanced diagnostics

The world-class teams conducting research at the Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics lead the discovery and development of next-generation drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for a range of infectious diseases, disorders, and cancers.

The Institute has many labs focussed on microbiology and biochemistry including a PC3 containment lab, where COVID-19 vaccine research recently occurred. There is also a Phase 1 Malaria vaccine clinical trial underway currently. The study of viruses requires strict biological containment facilities like the PC3 lab, to ensure infectious microorganisms are controlled and safely contained.

The Gold Coast Biobank provides access to biospecimens needed to advance personalised medicine

A biobank stores donated human samples called ‘biospecimens’, such as blood, that are used by medical researchers to inform different types of studies, such as the role of genetics in cancer risk, for example.

At the Gold Coast Biobank, part of the Menzies Health Institute, they house over 10,000 biospecimens that are available (for a fee) for research. For example, researchers can access over 3,000 biospecimens from breast cancer patients or 1,500 placenta cord blood specimens, where it is relevant to their studies.

The Biobank’s services include storage of biospecimens, database hosting, and full services ranging from protocol development, specimen collection, and processing, to bio-storage and database hosting and support.

Cohort Innovation Space offers technical space flexibility which is valuable to many emerging HealthTechs

As advancements in health continue to grow, the need for more, better-designed laboratories and support spaces increases. According to JLL’s ‘Journey to the Next Gen Lab’ report, in a flexible lab space, scientists are more likely to get results. When lab spaces can be rearranged on demand, plug-and-play research equipment, moveable workbenches, and multiple access points for utilities, there is more engagement and collaboration between researchers.

Cohort Innovation Space Labs empower biotech innovators and scientists by providing them with access to state-of-the-art laboratories and office space to help them accelerate new products and services to market. They also support established organisations to access increased capacity, to complement their existing space as required, with the flexibility to scale up or down.

Cohort Labs is the first collaborative research facility of its kind in Australia and includes a PC1 and PC2 lab and an artificial intelligence lab. When an organisation leases a Cohort Lab, they can access all the facilities at Cohort Innovation Space, including a 120-person event space, podcast, and live streaming studio, as well as community programs, training, networking, and events.

Lumina and the wider GCHKP provide a broad spectrum of technical spaces for those driven by research and innovation to create, collaborate and test

The Precinct offers world-class technical spaces, facilities, and equipment that are in demand from new tenants and industry and commercial partners looking for the ideal location to collaborate and develop new ideas in life sciences.

Lumina, the last remaining development-ready land within the GCHKP is welcoming developers who are ready to take advantage of the Precinct location and community. Enquire here about purchasing land opportunities, and other leasing opportunities in upcoming developments.

Cohort Innovation Space is also pleased to bring to market an 82m2 lab with office space that includes bench tables, safety equipment, 11 work desks, and a commercial dishwasher – for immediate lease on a short-term or long-term basis. Contact Benjamin Howe at CoSpaces for more information at ben@cospaces.com.au and also check all the details here