Johnson & Johnson to launch incubator platform JLABS in Shanghai

Johnson & Johnson said it would launch its incubator platform Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS in collaboration with Shanghai Municipal Government to strengthen the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

JLABS@Shanghai will be the company's first overseas site outside its eight locations across North America, and the 4,400-square-meter facility will be located in Shanghai's Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park and will open in the second quarter of 2019.

It is expected to support up to 50 life science and healthcare startups as well as focused on innovations across the entire healthcare spectrum, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer.

Vladimir Makatsaria, chairman of Johnson & Johnson China Group, said that Shanghai specifically has become a global hotspot for healthcare innovation.

“JLABS@Shanghai will join our Asia Pacific Innovation Center, Janssen China Discovery Labs, Emerging Markets Innovation Center, and other initiatives across our Johnson & Johnson's China organizations in creating a Shanghai-based hub that strengthens our ability to meet the rapidly evolving healthcare needs of people in China and around the world.”

Liu Qin, deputy inspector general at the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipal Government, said that JLABS@Shanghai "will support entrepreneurship as it relates to science and technology and strengthen our position as a global innovation hub.”

JLABS@Shanghai will allow startups to be part of an established innovation hub, such as access to talent and mentors, large existing firms and research universities, capital and convergence opportunities with other sectors.