Project partners marked the opening of RoVa Labs on Wednesday, May 6, and shared the following news release about this transformational investment in the Roanoke region:
Leaders from Carilion Clinic, the City of Roanoke, Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA), and Virginia Western Community College cut the ribbon on years of hard work with the opening of RoVa Labs, a 40,000-square-foot biotech incubator designed to accelerate commercialization, strengthen the Roanoke Innovation Corridor, and position the region as an emerging destination for life sciences innovation and manufacturing.
The $26 million public-private investment is expected to create 250 high-wage jobs within five years while providing nationally competitive infrastructure to help startups, researchers, and entrepreneurs launch and scale companies in Southwest Virginia.
Funded through a $15.7 million state grant matched by more than $10 million in regional investment, RoVa Labs represents one of the region’s most significant investments to date in commercialization infrastructure and the future of Virginia’s growing life sciences economy.
“The shared lab space will attract existing and start-up businesses in the life sciences, biotechnology, and healthcare sectors,” said Carilion Executive Vice President and CFO Don Halliwill. “Building the space is just the first step in creating an innovative gathering place for our region’s greatest minds to collaborate with those who have promising new ideas about exciting and challenging projects.”
Located at 1030 South Jefferson Street in the heart of the Roanoke Innovation Corridor, RoVa Labs fills a longstanding gap in the region’s innovation ecosystem. For years, many early-stage biotech companies were forced to relocate to larger markets such as Boston, San Francisco, and the Research Triangle because the specialized wet lab infrastructure and commercialization support needed to grow did not exist locally.
RoVa Labs changes that dynamic by bringing world-class biotech infrastructure to a lower-cost, high-talent market already supported by nationally recognized research institutions, healthcare systems, workforce development partners, and manufacturing expertise. “Roanoke is a hub for science and research and a place where life sciences entrepreneurs, researchers, and startups can get the necessary support, collaboration, and tools needed to innovate and grow,” said Roanoke City Manager Valmarie Turner.
More than just lab space, RoVa Labs represents a strategic economic development investment designed to help diversify and strengthen the region’s economy through the continued growth of the life sciences sector.
“We haven’t just built labs; we’re building an ecosystem where life sciences companies can scale and compete globally,” said Erin Burcham, RBIA Chief Executive Officer. “By pairing RoVa Labs’ critical infrastructure with the specialized startup programming that early-stage biotech companies require, we’re carrying out a proven blueprint for regional economic transformation.”
The facility helps create a stronger pipeline from research and startup development to scalable production, building upon the Roanoke Region’s existing strengths in advanced manufacturing. From 2019 to 2023, the Roanoke Region accounted for roughly half of Virginia’s manufacturing job growth, demonstrating the region’s momentum and ability to support innovation-driven industries at scale.
“As life sciences companies grow, they eventually need manufacturing, supply chain, and production capabilities,” said Julia Boas, director of Business Investment for the Roanoke Regional Partnership. “The Roanoke Region is uniquely positioned to support that next phase of growth because we already have the industrial foundation, workforce expertise, and collaborative ecosystem needed to help companies move from concept to commercialization to production.” Boas also noted the groundbreaking research taking
place at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the leadership of Carilion Clinic, and the entrepreneurial pipeline created through programs like RAMP have helped lay the foundation for this moment and positioned the region to compete in the growing life sciences economy.
Regional leaders also emphasized the importance of workforce development in supporting the long-term success of the life sciences sector and ensuring companies have access to a highly skilled talent pipeline.
“While our partners have been hard at work preparing this world-class space, Virginia Western has been hard at work preparing the talent to power it,” said Amy White, dean of STEM and Workforce Solutions. “Our mission is to stay ahead of the ever-changing workforce needs of biotech, healthcare innovation, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technologies. We are achieving this through a dual focus: training our students for the highly specialized roles within RoVa Labs and supporting our K-12 partners through professional development and outreach efforts. By strengthening every link in the educational pipeline, we are ensuring that Roanoke’s biotech future is fueled by local expertise.”
RoVa Labs is operated by Scheer Partners, a nationally recognized operator of elite life sciences incubators and research environments. Their involvement brings proven expertise and nationally competitive standards to the Roanoke market while reinforcing the region’s emergence as a serious player in the biotech and life sciences economy.
The project also strengthens Virginia’s growing innovation corridor connecting Roanoke, Charlottesville, and Richmond by expanding the infrastructure needed to support research commercialization, entrepreneurship, and company growth across the Commonwealth.
RoVa Labs represents another major milestone in the continued evolution of the Roanoke Innovation Corridor and demonstrates the power of collaboration between healthcare, higher education, local government, workforce development, and economic development organizations working together toward a shared regional vision.
For more information about the labs, please visit the RoVa Labs site.
