Just outside of downtown Providence, life sciences startup Research Instruments Corp. is developing a technology that Chief Business Officer Keith Bisogno calls the “replacement of the future in X-ray devices.”
At its Promenade Street location, the company is scaling up its work on suitcase-sized X-ray devices that use ultrafast, ultrabright laser technology, rather than the traditional tube system, to limit patient exposure to radiation and accelerate diagnostics.
But these ambitions, coupled with the company’s plans to double its small team to 10 people in the next year, meant that Research Instruments had to move on from its previous “shared, very cramped quarters” in the Wayland neighborhood’s Richmond Square, which provided the startup – a Brown University spinoff – with around 1,000 square feet of space.
In the new space, Research Instruments occupies around 2,000 square feet, with another 8,000 square feet for a potential expansion, Bisogno says. In addition to accommodating more, “very critical” hires, the facility just as vitally provides specific features such as an industrial-level power source and concrete floors that can bear massive, heavy equipment. Even the space’s lack of windows came as a plus, as they would otherwise need to be covered to keep lasers from escaping the facility.
“It was love at first sight,” Bisogno said of the location, adding that he’s been impressed with Rhode Island’s overall performance in supporting the growing company.
That should come as a relief to state leaders – with its biotech focus, Research Instruments is just the type of company they want here. Last year, Gov. Daniel J. McKee and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi announced the state would invest $45 million into establishing a life sciences “hub” in Rhode Island.
But on a broader level, metro areas are seeing a significant decrease in demand for lab space and other facilities catering to the life sciences sector. Nationwide, life science vacancies increased by 1.5% from the second to third quarters of 2023, according to CBRE Inc. data. And while this decrease is tiny in comparison to overall office space vacancy rates, which have surged since COVID-19 shutdowns, it has raised concerns even in Boston-Cambridge’s industry-leading biotech sphere.
While that may be cause for concern in areas that rushed to construct new biotech facilities in recent years, Rhode Island leaders say that the Ocean State’s relatively nascent life sciences market means the vacancy rates haven’t been so apparent locally.
“We’re trying to build up the industry. … But the bottom line is, we don’t have the [lab] space to have one,” said Neil D. Steinberg, chairman of the Rhode Island Life Science Hub. “The sector here is growing, and we haven’t been able to meet the demand.”
So far, Rhode Island’s life science facilities have largely been limited to its hospitals and Brown University, Steinberg said, with few real estate opportunities for life science companies outside of these entities.
Matt Touchette, a spokesperson for R.I. Commerce Corp., said the quasi-public agency recognizes designated lab facilities as “critical to achieving Rhode Island’s economic development goals” but noted similar obstacles.
“Rhode Island is unable to meet the current demand for lab space for those companies that are growing within the state or those that are looking at the Northeast region for business expansion and relocation opportunities,” Touchette said. “The state’s current supply of lab space is all owned and operated by private entities and fit out specifically for hospitals, universities and companies specifically affiliated with those entities.”
The state has recently made some progress in providing more options for new and expanding biotech companies. A 200,000-square-foot life sciences complex under construction in the I-195 Redevelopment District, for instance, will include dedicated space for the R.I. State Health Lab and Brown University, but more than half of that space – about 120,000 square feet – is set aside for private lab facilities.
And in the Jewelry District, a building on Dyer Street dubbed Point225 includes 62,000 square feet of wet-lab-ready research space, with half already going to Brown and the remaining space available for commercial companies.
“Rhode Island’s commitment to supporting the life science sector will alleviate some of the economic drivers currently impacting the industry, making Rhode Island an attractive and affordable location for growing companies,” Touchette said.
The state’s $45 million life sciences hub investment, he adds, will act as a catalyst for “dedicated wet-lab incubator space, economic development programs and incentives, and investing in workforce development opportunities for Rhode Islanders to enter and work in life science research and manufacturing.”
Carol C. Malysz, executive director of RI Bio, highlighted the upcoming I-195 Innovation District and available space at Point225 as a major opportunity for the state’s biotech sector.
“Wet-lab space is something that Rhode Island has always lacked, so the fact that we now have available space in the state health lab is very important to advancing innovation in Rhode Island,” she said.
