NEWTON, Mass.– LabShares, a leading provider of shared laboratory facilities, advanced equipment, and associated services for life science and biotech customers, today announced that life sciences industry veteran Philip Borden and investor Pacific Lake Partners have acquired a majority stake in the company. Mr. Borden will assume the role as CEO, while LabShares founder and former CEO Jeff Behrens has joined the Board of Directors and remains a shareholder and close advisor to the company.
Mr. Borden began his career as a biotech-focused venture capitalist at Frazier Healthcare and Oxford Bioscience Partners before moving into healthcare private equity. From 2012-2017, Mr. Borden served as Board Chairman for BioAgilytix, the leading provider of bioanalytical services to the biopharmaceutical industry. Mr. Borden holds a BS in biology from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“LabShares’ shared laboratory model is essential to support early-stage companies, which are the life blood of the biotech and life sciences industry,” said Mr. Borden. “Emerging biotechs often struggle to predict their growth trajectory. It is suboptimal for them to sign costly, long-term leases, to purchase their own expensive lab equipment, to go through lengthy permitting processes, and to handle the day-to-day logistics of lab management. LabShares’ approach is dramatically more capital efficient, allowing their dollars to go further. I believe that virtually every early-stage biotech and life science company should utilize shared lab space. We allow customers to focus on the science; LabShares takes care of the rest. That’s why I’m incredibly excited to be part of this organization.”
LabShares was founded in 2018 and completed a major expansion in 2022. It currently provides services to nearly 30 companies. Several member companies have headquarters outside of Massachusetts and joined LabShares to gain access to the rich greater Boston biotech ecosystem without the need to take on a prolonged and costly buildout of their own laboratory space.
The new capital will support LabShares’ future plans including continued growth in the greater Boston area, expansion into new geographies, and addition of new services for biotech and life science customers. This new investment will also help address growing interest in LabShares from companies across the United States and internationally.
