Photo | Courtesy of Dascon Corp.
ABI-LAB 3 consists of 10 build-to-suit laboratories ranging from 900 to 2,500 square feet.
March 18, 2025
Natick life sciences incubator opens third facility to meet growing demand
Photo | Edd Cote
Drew Croke performs research at the ABI-LAB incubator in Natick.
ABI-LAB, a Natick-based incubator and accelerator focused on the life science industry, has opened a third facility in the town to meet growing demand for lab space among early stage companies.
ABI-LAB 3 facility will help meet demand in the sector, as venture capital activity in the life science industry has exceeded pre-COVID levels despite on-going economic uncertainty, according to a Tuesday press release issued by Dascon Corp., the Natick-based design firm behind the project.
The new 35,000-square-foot space will bring the firm’s total facility area to 112,000 square feet across three buildings in the Golden Triangle, an area in Framingham and Natick once mostly focused on the retail sector.
“Massachusetts is the global hub of life science innovation thanks to our robust ecosystem of hospitals, research institutions, leading companies, and incubators like ABI- LAB,” Yvonne Hao, Massachusetts secretary of economic development, said at a ribbon cutting event held on Wednesday for the new facility. “Through the Mass Leads Act, Massachusetts is reinvesting in the tools and resources necessary to support growth in this vital industry, and we are grateful for ABI-LAB’s expansion in our state with this new facility.”
Bio-incubators can offer support to firms experiencing downward pressures in research investment, according to the press release. Incubators like ABI-LAB and Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives in Worcester could offer a potential lifeline to firms negatively impacted by ongoing economic uncertainty and cuts in federal research funding as a result of actions taken by the President Donald Trump Administration.
ABI-LAB 3 consists of 10 build-to-suit laboratories ranging from 900 to 2,500 square feet. Since opening its first facility in 2016, ABI-LAB tenants have raised over $3.3 billion in early stage and late-stage funding, with 400 jobs being brought to Natick as a result. International firms who have chosen to make ABI-LAB’s their United States headquarters make up 20% of tenants.
“The startup mindset is about exploration, experimentation, rapid learnings and failures,” Gary Kaufman, chief operating officer at ABI-LAB, said at the Wednesday ribbon cutting. “This project isn’t about creating a building. It is centered on a process that supports solutions for thousands of patients.”
Prior to the opening of ABI-LAB 3, the incubator was Central Massachusetts’ second largest, according to data compiled by the WBJ Research Department, with 41 companies. WorcLab in Worcester is the largest incubator, with 54 companies.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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