What Forward BIOLABS does

Forward BIOLABS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit co-working life science laboratory founded in 2018 and headquartered at 504 South Rosa Road in Madison, Wisconsin, with a pilot office launched in 2025 at the UW-Milwaukee Innovation Accelerator. The company operates fully equipped, professionally maintained laboratory and office space available through month-to-month memberships, enabling early-stage biohealth startups to begin scientific work on day one rather than the typical 6–12 months and hundreds of thousands of dollars required to lease, design, and equip a standalone facility. Shared equipment includes BSL-2 cell culture capabilities, PCR, plate readers, FPLC, bioreactors, and connections to UW-Madison's 90+ cores and 460+ resources, supported by included services such as waste management, safety training, equipment calibration, and security monitoring.

Forward BIOLABS has served more than 40 member startups since founding, and member companies have collectively raised and been granted over $360 million in capital, with 19 graduates transitioning into larger facilities in the Madison region. Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring lab bench and office membership fees, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) grants (including $93,600 in 2023 and $192,200 in 2024), and corporate sponsorships from a defined sponsor tier (4 founding and 5 platinum sponsors). Two recent program overlays extend the core offering: the Forward Memberships program (2024) subsidizes 12-month memberships for biohealth startups, and the Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) program (2025), co-led with BioForward Wisconsin, provides $25,000–$75,000 commercialization awards.

The organization operates as part of the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub — one of 31 U.S. EDA-designated Tech Hubs — and is governed by a Board of Directors and a 22-member Advisory Board, with a small team (1–10 employees) led by CEO and Co-Founder Jessica Martin Eckerly. Forward BIOLABS functions less as a venture-backed startup than as a regional economic-development instrument that monetizes laboratory infrastructure, sponsorships, and public funding to remove capital barriers for early-stage Wisconsin biohealth companies.

Name

Forward BIOLABS

Legal name

Forward BIOLABS

Website

https://forwardbiolabs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Forward BIOLABS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit co-working life science laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, providing turn-key lab bench and office memberships plus accelerator programs (Forward Memberships, ICP) to early-stage biohealth startups, funded through membership fees, WEDC grants, and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biotech Co-Working Laboratory Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Development & Tech Transfer (Upstream/Downstream/MSAT) (HLAGAGAE)

Keywords

• Co-working laboratory services
• Biotech startup incubation
• Life science lab infrastructure
• Biohealth accelerator programs
• Wet lab bench rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Lab and Office Membership Fees: Month-to-month membership fees for access to fully equipped lab benches, office space, shared equipment, and community resources. Members pay for lab bench membership with dedicated storage and cold unit access, or office membership with options ranging from hot desks to private office suites.
2. WEDC Grants and Program Funding: Funding from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation including the $192,200 Entrepreneurship Partner Grant for Forward Memberships program and state-matched Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub funding for ICP program operations.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Sponsorship funding from pharmaceutical, biotech, and life sciences companies including founding sponsors (MGE Foundation, Promega, WARF, WEDC, URP) and platinum sponsors (Advocate Aurora, Findorff, Gilson, UW-Madison, WiCell). Partners include business and scientific service providers, and lab equipment vendors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Forward BIOLABS provides turn-key, fully equipped co-working life science laboratories and office space on month-to-month memberships to early-stage biohealth startups, enabling science work to begin on day one without equipment procurement or facility setup. The offering is complemented by the Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) program providing $25,000–$75,000 commercialization awards and the Forward Memberships award program offering free 12-month memberships to selected startups.

Product overview

Forward BIOLABS is a non-profit co-working life science laboratory and startup support organization offering a unified platform of turn-key laboratory and office spaces plus accelerator programs. The core offering consists of fully equipped co-working life science laboratories with flexible lab bench and office memberships available month-to-month, complemented by shared equipment infrastructure (refrigerators, freezers, BSL-2 capabilities, PCR, plate readers, FPLC, bioreactors). The portfolio includes two physical locations (Madison and Milwaukee), the Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) Program providing $25,000-$75,000 awards for commercialization support, and the Forward Memberships program offering 12-month awards to early-stage biohealth startups. Additional services include equipment maintenance, safety training, waste management, and connections to University of Wisconsin-Madison research resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lab Bench Membership Dedicated lab bench with storage, dedicated cold unit storage, and access to all shared equipment and lab amenities including BSL-2 capabilities, PCR, plate readers, FPLC, and bioreactors. Available on a month-to-month subscription basis for early-stage biohealth startups.
• Office Membership Flexible office space options for startups including hot desks, dedicated desks, office cubes, and private office suites. Can be added to lab bench membership or taken standalone, with access to programming and sponsor support.
• Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) Program Statewide initiative co-led with BioForward Wisconsin providing targeted funding ($25,000–$75,000 awards) to emerging Wisconsin biohealth companies to overcome commercialization barriers and capital-access gaps. Award is reimbursement-based upon receipt submission, with companies required to demonstrate at least one year of financial runway.
• Forward Memberships Program Award program providing early-stage biohealth startups with 12-month memberships including fully equipped co-working laboratory and/or office options, shared resources, and community access at no cost. Supported by WEDC Entrepreneurship Partner Grants and focused on companies with women or minority founders or leaders.
• Madison Lab and Office Location Primary location in University Research Park (MG&E Innovation Center) at 504 South Rosa Road, Madison, WI offering lab and office memberships, with planned expansion to include chemistry capabilities and additional life sciences equipment for seed-stage companies.
• Milwaukee Co-Working Office Location Pilot co-working office location at the UW-Milwaukee Innovation Accelerator, co-located with BioForward Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, supporting startups in the greater Milwaukee area.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ startups have resided at Forward BIOLABS with $360M+ invested and granted to those companies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• BioForward WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2025BioForward Wisconsin is the lead organization for the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub and co-leads the Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) program with Forward BIOLABS. The partnership provides statewide support for early-stage biohealth companies across Wisconsin, representing more than 250 member organizations in biopharma, medical device, diagnostics, digital health, and healthcare systems.
• BioForward MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBioForward Madison partnership with Forward BIOLABS for the Innovation to Commercialization Pipeline (ICP) program, selecting awardees across Wisconsin's biohealth sectors including biomanufacturing, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.
• University of Wisconsin-MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUW-Madison has partnered with Forward BIOLABS as part of the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub consortium. The partnership includes the development of the Isthmus Project (health technology incubator at UW Health) and supports the startup pipeline with Forward BIOLABS attracting over $290 million in investment with companies graduating into larger facilities.
• Wisconsin Biohealth Tech HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForward BIOLABS is part of the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, a coordinated statewide initiative working to advance personalized medicine by connecting industry, research, workforce, and infrastructure partners. The Tech Hub designation by the Biden Administration provides federal recognition and support for Wisconsin's biohealth ecosystem.
• UW-Milwaukee Innovation AcceleratorregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerForward BIOLABS is piloting a biohealth startup hub in Milwaukee, WI co-located with BioForward Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub in the UW Milwaukee Innovation Accelerator. The additive effect of several biohealth industry leaders working alongside promising startups aims to enhance the network and support young companies' growth in the greater Milwaukee area.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LabCentral: Cambridge, MA-based nonprofit co-working laboratory operator for biotech startups, providing fully equipped lab benches, shared equipment, and programming on a membership model. Most direct U.S. comparable to Forward BIOLABS in mission and operating model, with a far larger scale and national profile.
• MBC BioLabs: San Carlos, CA-based for-profit co-working life science laboratory incubator offering turn-key lab space to early-stage biotech startups, with satellite sites in San Diego and Boston. Closely comparable business model (fully equipped labs, membership pricing) to Forward BIOLABS, with venture backing and broader geographic reach.
• BioGenerator: St. Louis-based nonprofit life science startup support organization providing co-working lab space, founder mentorship, and direct investment to early-stage biohealth companies in the Midwest. Closely comparable to Forward BIOLABS in nonprofit model, regional focus, and lab-incubation offering.
• BioBAT Innovation Center: Brooklyn, NY-based life science innovation center offering affordable lab and office space to early-stage biotech and medtech companies in a public-private partnership model. Comparable in target customer (early-stage biohealth startups) and turn-key lab offering, but located in a major urban market.

Broad incumbents

• JLABS (Johnson & Johnson Innovation): Johnson & Johnson's global network of life science incubators providing lab space, equipment, and corporate-partner programming to early-stage biotech, medtech, and consumer health startups. Comparable in target customer (early-stage biohealth) and facility model, but embedded within a major pharma R&D platform with substantially greater resources.
• Alexandria LaunchLabs: Alexandria Real Estate Equities' startup incubator platform providing turn-key lab and office space, shared equipment, and venture-concierge services to early-stage life science companies across multiple U.S. sites. Directly comparable offering (turn-key co-working life science space), backed by a major life science REIT.
• Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC): Global co-working and innovation campus operator with growing life science lab offerings (CIC Labs) across multiple U.S. and international cities. Comparable in co-working + lab hybrid offering, but operates at far larger scale across broader verticals beyond biotech.

Regional players

• University City Science Center: Philadelphia-based nonprofit that supports early-stage life science and technology startups through programming, wet-lab incubator space, and industry connections. Comparable nonprofit mission and life-science focus, but serves a different regional ecosystem than Forward BIOLABS.
• BioEnterprise (BioEnterprise Partners / JumpStart Health): Cleveland/Northeast Ohio-based organization that supports healthcare and biohealth entrepreneurs through programming, capital connections, and (historically) lab/incubator space. Comparable nonprofit mission and regional biohealth focus, though recent emphasis has shifted more toward venture- and programming-led support than physical lab operations.

Emerging players

• BentoLab / BioBento: Smaller emerging life-science incubator and shared-lab operator focused on early-stage biotech startups in select U.S. metros. Conceptually comparable shared-lab offering for early biohealth startups, but at a meaningfully smaller scale than Forward BIOLABS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments9 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forward BIOLABS