The New Orleans-based company plans a $656,000 investment and 46 new jobs at a lab in Charleston, according to the S.C. Department of Commerce.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Obatala Sciences has chosen Charleston County for its first operation on the East Coast, according to the S.C. Department of Commerce.
The biotechnology company plans to invest $656,000 and create 46 jobs, along with training opportunities in biotechnology and related fields, the department said.
Obatala, headquartered in New Orleans, makes biomaterials, stem cells, growth media and tissue models used in preclinical medical research, according to Commerce. The new site will be based at Blue Sky Labs in Charleston and will handle partnership development, translational research, product development and future scale-up work tied to the company’s biomaterials and tissue-model technology, the department said. Operations there are already underway.
Obatala Co-founder, President and CEO Dr. Trivia Frazier said the Charleston expansion, done in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina and Blue Sky Labs, gives the company access to an established research network and links its New Orleans headquarters with South Carolina’s life sciences sector.
“Just as importantly, this partnership helps answer a national call to scale domestic advanced biomanufacturing capacity for high-value biotechnology products that support FDA New Approach Methodologies goals,” Frazier said.
Gov. Henry McMaster said the state is pleased to see the company bring 46 jobs to Charleston County. Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said the investment supports the state’s growth in life sciences. Charleston County Council Chairman Joe Boykin and Charleston Regional Development Alliance Board Chairman Will Russell also welcomed the announcement, citing the region’s research and entrepreneurial resources.
People interested in working for Obatala can contact the company by email, according to the department.
Based on a release from S.C. Dept. of Commerce.
