FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact: Desiree Niccoli, desiree@alschulerpr.com, 412-535-5701
RIDC Tenant Predictive Oncology Inc. Extends Lease in Lawrenceville, A Hub for Life Sciences and Robotics
The Chocolate Factory at RIDC’s Lawrenceville Technology Center
Pittsburgh, PA—February 1, 2023—Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC) announced that Predictive Oncology Inc. has signed a five-year lease extension on the approximately 20,000 square feet it occupies in The Chocolate Factory at RIDC’s Lawrenceville Technology Center.
Predictive Oncology Inc. uses the space for office and laboratory operations, including their drug discovery, drug development and clinical business. The company’s clinical testing and contract research services include the application of AI to accelerate patient-centric drug discovery, improving patient outcomes in cancer treatment, and developing predictive tumor-specific 3D cell culture models that provide accurate 3D reconstruction of human tissues representing each cancer disease state.
Predictive Oncology Inc. has been located at The Chocolate Factory, under their subsidiary name of Helomics, since 2009 and now has 17 employees located there.
“When Predictive Oncology acquired Helomics in 2019, the company understood — not only the significance of The Chocolate Factory to the community of Lawrenceville — but the impact of this facility on the development and evolution of the biotechnology industry in Pittsburgh,” said Raymond F. Vennare, Predictive Oncology CEO. “Before it was Helomics, it was Precision Therapeutics, and that company changed the entire trajectory of life sciences in Pittsburgh.”
“The life sciences sector is an important part of our region’s economy,” said Donald F. Smith, Jr. RIDC President, “and Predictive Oncology is an important player within that sector. Despite economic uncertainty nationally, the life science sector in Pittsburgh remains strong, and the Lawrenceville market is still a magnet for activity. Lawrenceville has come a long way since 2009, when Helomics was Precision Therapeutics, and it shows the value of investing in specialized space to meet the needs of innovative life sciences companies.”
About RIDC:
The mission of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern PA is to catalyze and support economic growth and high-quality job creation through policy advocacy, real estate development and finance of projects that advance the public interest. A not-for-profit entity, RIDC has developed over 2,800 acres in 14 industrial and innovation parks and manages over 7 million square feet.
The Chocolate Factory, originally an Atlantic & Pacific Company storehouse built on the site in 1930, became a chocolate factory for Geoffrey Boehm in the 1990s and has been completely renovated into a multi-tenant, office/high-tech manufacturing facility. It is now home to Predictive Oncology Inc., the Microbial Genome Sequencing Center, LifeX Labs, Agility Robotics and Setex Technologies. More information is available at www.ridc.org.
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Media Coverage:
Pittsburgh Business Times – Predictive Oncology extends 20,000-square-foot lease for Helomics group at the Chocolate Factory
