University Research Park (URP) in Madison today announced the relocation of two local biotechnology companies to its Accelerator building and the expansion of a third at its current park location.
Epicentre, a subsidiary of Illumina Inc., and Aldevron will move operations to the three-story, 80,000-square-foot building, while Exact Sciences will expand into the space Aldevron is vacating.
“These moves and expansions highlight not only the continued growth of Madison’s biotech sector, but also the continued commitment of these successful companies to the area,” said Mark Bugher, University Research Park director. “We are grateful that Epicentre, Aldevron and Exact Sciences have chosen University Research Park for their expansions. We are particularly pleased with the commitment that Illumina, Epicentre’s California-based parent company, is making with its move to the park.”
Epicentre, a manufacturer of molecular biology reagents for life science research, will move its Madison operations to approximately 27,000 square feet on a full floor of URP’s Accelerator building.
“Illumina is pleased to be a part of Madison’s biotech community through its Epicentre subsidiary,” said Jeff Eidel, general manager of Epicentre. “Madison continues to grow as a biotech hub, in large part because of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We want Epicentre to remain close to the talent and expertise at UW, which are important to the continued growth of our business. We are able to do that at URP’s Accelerator, while also significantly increasing our production capacity and expanding collaboration both inside and outside of the company.”
Aldevron will double its capacity in the Accelerator from its current space in the park at 441 Charmany Drive. The company is expanding in Madison as it enters the next phase of its business plan, and moves from a research and development focus to manufacturing.
Exact Sciences, which is focused on a non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test called Cologuard, will expand into the roughly 10,000 square feet left vacant by both Aldevron’s move and the end of EMD Merck’s building lease. The company is nearing the completion of a nationwide clinical trial of the test.
