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Tenant Spotlight
From 0 to 100: How Editpep’s CRISPR Technology and Business Took Off at Bakar Bio Labs
“Editpep is a great example of what can happen when UC Berkeley’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem comes together,” says Darren Cooke, Interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer at UC Berkeley. “Through LSEC’s Venture Grant Program, we were able to connect Editpep with funding, mentorship, and key resources like Berkeley SkyDeck, I-Corps and Bakar Bio Labs, paving a path from lab discovery to long-term societal benefit. Helping Ross Wilson and Dana Foss build a business around extraordinary technology has been very rewarding.” Read post
Bakar Bio Labs News
Former QWEST Intern Nam Pianapitham Takes Job at VC Fund
By working at Bakar Bio Labs, she saw firsthand that innovation happens at every level. “Everyone’s working hard towards a goal—even if that goal is five or 10 years down the line, in terms of FDA approval or commercializing technology,” says Nam. Her time as an intern also gave her the confidence to realize that students can make meaningful contributions to the biotech community. Now at Disrupt Health, Nam applies that same passion on a global scale, leveraging the knowledge she acquired during her time as an intern. The fund invests in transformative areas, including self-care, preventive health, age-well technologies, AI-enabled smart hospitals, and digital health platforms. Read post
Press Release
Nosis Bio Announces Development Candidate Nomination for Lead Fibrosis Program
Nosis Bio, an AI-native biotechnology company pioneering cell-targeted gene silencing, today announced the nomination of its first development candidate (DC) for fibrosis. The milestone marks the company’s transition into IND-enabling studies and the advancement of its proprietary targeted delivery and drug design platform into clinical-stage development. Fibrosis affects over 100 million people globally and remains a high-burden, underserved condition that causes progressive scarring of critical organs such as the lungs, kidneys, and heart. Despite its prevalence, the field has seen limited progress, with existing treatments offering only modest efficacy and being constrained by systemic toxicity and poor tolerability. Read post![Ribbon molecular model. Illustration of OpenCRISPR-1 [Profluent]](https://bio.bakarlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/opencrispr_cartoon.webp)
Company News
Profluent’s AI-Designed Gene Editor Glimpses into Generalizable Platform
Ali Madani, PhD, CEO of Profluent, says there’s an urgent need to move away from the time-consuming slog of random therapeutic discovery and into artificial intelligence (AI)-based bespoke design. “There are real people with lives at stake and patients waiting,” he emphasized in an interview with GEN. Madani’s Bay Area-based company is currently building foundation models to steer functional protein design for generalizable applications across agriculture, biotechnology, and human health. The team has recently taken one step toward this goal for CRISPR-based therapeutics. Read post
Company News
New data supports Cyclarity’s approach to atherosclerosis reversal
The central role of 7-ketocholesterol (7KC) in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is well documented: as a toxic oxidized derivative of cholesterol, 7KC accumulates in arterial walls and contributes to the transformation of macrophages into dysfunctional, lipid-laden foam cells. These cells drive inflammation, destabilise plaque and ultimately fuel cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Many therapeutic strategies have focused on lipid lowering or anti-inflammatory approaches; few have attempted to directly remove 7KC from cells, and fewer still have demonstrated the ability to reverse foam cell formation. Now, Cyclarity Therapeutics has published preclinical data suggesting its cyclodextrin-based compound UDP-003 can do just that – and with a favorable safety and pharmacokinetic profile that supports IND-readiness for first-in-human trials. Read post
Tenant Spotlight
Addition Therapeutics: A Third-Way Approach to Genetic Medicine
At UC Berkeley, Collins and her lab investigated telomerase, a reverse transcriptase that protects the ends of chromosomes. Her research led her deeper into the world of reverse transcriptases, which are typically associated with viruses like HIV. However, she untapped what had largely been ignored by prior scientists—non-viral reverse transcriptases embedded in animal genomes that could be repurposed for human health. As her lab’s discoveries gained traction, so did the urgency to bring them to reality. Collins became a Bakar Fellow in 2016. In 2019, she won an NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Pioneer Grant, signaling that her approach had transformative potential. In 2021, she co-founded Addition. Read post
Bakar Labs News
Bakar Labs Expands Life Science Ecosystem with New R&D Facility for Growing Biotech Companies
Bakar Labs, the University of California, Berkeley’s flagship incubator for life science, energy, and materials startups, announced today the launch of a new building on campus that will provide critical infrastructure for life science startups scaling beyond the earliest stages. Launched in partnership with the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), the IGI-Bakar Labs building will house expansion space for biotech companies transitioning out of early incubators as they exceed 20-30 employees. This space will help retain high-potential startups in the Berkeley ecosystem by offering state-of-the-art labs and offices, flexibility, community support, and proximity to campus resources so companies can continue to grow. Construction is projected to be complete in late 2028. Read post
Bakar Labs News
Regents approve IGI-Bakar Labs Building to catalyze science innovation, entrepreneurship
The UC Board of Regents approved a new building for Bakar Labs and the Innovative Genomics Institute, or IGI, at the northwest corner of UC Berkeley’s campus last week. The seven-story,169,000 gross-square-foot facility will be part of UC Berkeley’s Innovation Zone at Oxford Street and University Avenue. After this building and the neighboring Bakar ClimatEnginuity Hub finish construction, Bakar Labs will be the largest hub of biotechnology, energy and materials incubators at any U.S. university, according to UC Berkeley News. The construction is scheduled to break ground in 2026, according to the regents’ Finance and Capital Strategies Committee. It is expected to open during the 2028-29 school year. Read post
Bakar Labs News
Bakar Labs and Innovative Genomics Institute’s Partnership Create New R&D Facility for Startup Biotech Companies
The University of California, Berkeley’s incubator for life sciences Bakar Labs announced construction for a new research and development building on campus for early-stage biotech startups. Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) partnered with Bakar Labs to create the IGI-Bakar Labs building, which will provide housing for expanding startups transitioning out of early incubation stages and aims to retain promising startups within the Berkeley ecosystem. Read postOur affiliates
Built for speed
Ready to run?
Startups need to focus on making milestones, not managing equipment.
Bakar Bio Labs maintains tissue culture facilities, a freezer farm, fume hoods, basic benchtop equipment and plenty of analytical instruments. Optional lab support services can also make for quick starts that help get results fast.
Built for breakthroughs
At UC Berkeley
Bakar Bio Labs is just steps from UC Berkeley’s world-renowned faculty and more than 40,000 students who train in top programs including science, engineering, law and business. Dotting the campus is a network of core facilities that feature a wide range of advanced equipment and services for use by startups. Recruiting student talent and scientific co-founders couldn’t be easier.
Today’s best startups blaze a trail all their own, but they don’t do it alone.
They build their support network to help them navigate the multiple challenges they face. At Bakar Bio Labs, tenants join a community of as many as 50 like-minded teams willing to share the scientific and business insights that help them advance. The incubator spans more than 40,000 square feet of lab and office spaces within the fully renovated Woo Hon Fai Hall, the iconic former home of the Berkeley Art Museum. With so much going on, investors, industry partners and new talent are already taking notice.
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Built for startups. For more than 20 years, QB3 has been the University of California’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship in life science. Through pitch summits, seminars, symposia, podcasts, office hours, internships, and workshops QB3 educates, connects, and elevates the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
