GROTON, Conn. — CURE Innovation Commons announced today that it is welcoming 454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, as a Founding Sponsor of The Commons, the exciting new office and laboratory space in Southeastern Connecticut.

454 Life Sciences has donated a state-of-the-art DNA sequencing system to The Commons. The GS Junior System can be used by life science researchers to perform a variety of sequencing applications and will be a valuable tool available to start-up and growing companies who locate there. The sequencer will also provide valuable hands-on biotech experience to students in the teaching laboratory at The Commons.

The Commons offers easy access to Boston, Providence, New Haven, and New York. To learn more, contact Kim Kelly, kkelly@cureconnect.org, or visit curecommons.org, for facility details, on-site services, sponsor opportunities, and application details.

“We are very grateful to 454 Life Sciences and Roche for their generous donation of the DNA sequencing system and training to teachers and scientists who seek to use it,” said Susan Froshauer, Ph.D., president and CEO of CURE, the bioscience network of Connecticut.

454 Life Sciences

454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, develops and commercializes the innovative GS Junior and GS FLX systems for high-throughput DNA sequencing. Specific applications include de novo sequencing and re-sequencing of whole genomes, targeted resequencing of genomic regions of interest, metagenomics, transcriptome sequencing and methylation analysis. 454 Sequencing technology has enabled over 1,000 peer-reviewed publications in diverse research fields such as cancer, infectious disease, immunogenetics, drug discovery, agriculture, environmental ecology, paleontology and many more.

The Commons

CURE Innovation Commons will be a facility for entrepreneurs, scientists, and service providers to build their businesses in a vibrant, collaborative community. The Commons will lease fully permitted, independent and shared laboratories and offices. Incubator features include conference rooms, co-working spaces, meeting and event areas. Resident companies will have access to investors, mentors and industry experts, back-office support and educational programming.

454 Life Sciences joins AirGas, American Laboratory Trading (ALT), Dilworth IP , Hydro Service and Supplies, Triumvirate, VWR International and Wiggin and Dana as Founding Sponsors.