Life sciences venture capital firm Portal Innovations announced June 21 its expansion into 30,000 square feet of lab and office space at the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park.

“Houston is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. and home to one of the world’s leading cancer research institutions, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,” founder and CEO John Flavin said in a news release. “It’s critical for us to open in Texas and leverage nearby pipelines from Rice University, UTHealth Houston, Texas A&M, University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine and others across Houston’s innovative life sciences ecosystem.”

The Chicago-based firm stated it will operate its lab and office at the TMC3 Collaborative Building, one part of the 37-acre life science campus slated to open in the fall. While TMC officials are preparing for Phase 1 to open in the fall, Portal is slated to move into the TMC3 building by the second quarter of 2024 or by April to June of next year.

According to its website, the lab and office space will have:

• Large coworking spaces
• Multiple conference rooms
• More than $2 million worth of modern equipment that includes both wet and dry labs, among others

During that time, the firm stated it will be actively looking for investments and offering lab facilities and development resources for the “next generation” of life science startups. To drive efforts with early-stage biotech and medical tech startups, in particular those from local universities, the firm stated its expansion marks its growth and expands its capabilities, according to the news release.

Portal Innovations also has locations in Atlanta and Boston, making Houston its first presence in Texas.