Mispro Enters San Diego Market with New Contract Vivarium Facility

SAN DIEGO, CA – May 20, 2026 – In a move set to bolster San Diego's thriving biotechnology sector, contract vivarium organization Mispro has announced it will open a new 7,000-square-foot facility within the Genesis Science Center in Sorrento Mesa. The facility, slated to open in late 2026, marks the company's strategic entry into the final major U.S. biotech hub in its national expansion, addressing a critical need for flexible preclinical research infrastructure in the region.

Fueling San Diego's Innovation Engine

San Diego is consistently ranked among the world's most concentrated and innovative life sciences clusters. Its Sorrento Mesa submarket, in particular, serves as the operational heart of this ecosystem, teeming with early-stage and growth-stage companies pushing the boundaries of therapeutic discovery. However, for many of these ventures, the path from concept to clinical trial is fraught with infrastructural hurdles. The high cost and operational complexity of building and managing in-house animal research facilities, known as vivaria, represent a significant barrier to entry.

Mispro's arrival is poised to lower that barrier. The new facility will provide shared, semi-private, and private vivarium space designed to support multiple biotechnology companies conducting early-stage in vivo studies. This model allows emerging biotechs to access state-of-the-art research environments without the prohibitive capital expenditure.

"San Diego is one of the world’s leading biotechnology ecosystems and has long been an important market for Mispro," said Yohan Tessier, President and COO of Mispro, in a statement. "The region has a highly informed scientific community that understands the value of the contract vivarium model and the role it plays in accelerating early-stage discovery."

The company's expansion into this market is a direct response to increasing demand for stable, research-ready preclinical infrastructure. It enters a dynamic but competitive landscape, with established players like Charles River Laboratories' CRADL division and other preclinical CROs already serving the area. However, Mispro aims to differentiate itself by focusing on a high-touch, partnership-based approach that grants scientists direct control over their research.

The Rise of 'Vivarium-as-a-Service'

The contract vivarium (CV) model, often described as 'Vivarium-as-a-Service,' represents a critical middle ground for biotech startups navigating the "build versus buy" dilemma. Building an in-house facility is a multi-million dollar, multi-year endeavor that diverts precious capital and focus away from core science. On the other end of the spectrum, fully outsourcing studies to a Contract Research Organization (CRO) often means relinquishing direct control over experimental execution and data generation.

Mispro’s model offers a hybrid solution. It provides the physical space, essential equipment, and a suite of comprehensive support services—including animal husbandry, technical services, veterinary oversight, and compliance management—while allowing a company's own scientists to design, execute, and oversee their studies. This empowers startups to maintain full scientific control and data integrity, which is crucial for reproducibility and investor confidence.

"Companies in San Diego need research environments that are stable, enabling and designed around the realities of modern biotech," Tessier noted. The CV model allows lean startups to operate with greater agility, scaling their space usage up or down based on research needs and preserving capital for pivotal R&D milestones. This financial and operational flexibility can significantly accelerate the drug discovery timeline, helping companies reach critical inflection points faster.

The Gold Standard of Research

A cornerstone of Mispro's value proposition is its unwavering commitment to quality and ethical standards, underscored by its pursuit of AAALAC International accreditation for all its facilities. The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International is the global gold standard for laboratory animal care. This voluntary accreditation signifies a commitment to humane treatment and, critically for the science itself, contributes to the validity and reproducibility of research data.

By providing a highly controlled and professionally managed environment, Mispro helps minimize experimental variables that can arise from inconsistencies in animal care, housing, or facility conditions. This focus on environmental consistency is fundamental to generating the reliable preclinical data required for regulatory submissions and advancing a therapeutic candidate. The San Diego facility will include comprehensive infrastructure and services designed to support this level of rigor, ensuring that client companies can conduct their studies with confidence in the underlying data quality.

"We understand the long-term history of the model in San Diego, and we respect the role it has played in helping shape the region’s research ecosystem," Tessier added. "That experience gives us the opportunity to enter the market with a clear understanding of what scientists need from a partner today: stability, responsiveness, consistency, and a genuine investment in the success of their research."

A Strategic Partnership in Biotech Real Estate

The choice of location for the new facility is as strategic as the services it will offer. The Genesis Science Center is a premier 330,000-square-foot life science campus developed by Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, Inc., a firm specializing in creating purpose-built environments for the biotech industry. The partnership between Mispro and Phase 3 is not new; the two companies have previously collaborated on successful projects in other key biotech hubs, including Waltham and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Carlos, California.

This collaboration highlights a growing trend in life sciences: the development of integrated, full-service innovation campuses. Rather than simply leasing lab space, developers like Phase 3 are creating ecosystems that provide tenants with access to shared amenities and critical support services. The inclusion of a contract vivarium is a key piece of that puzzle.

“Mispro was the right partner to further elevate Genesis Science Center as the pre-eminent research and innovation campus in the Sorrento Mesa submarket,” said BJ Van Aken, Executive Vice President of Phase 3 Real Estate Partners. “Their operational model, long-term stability and reputation within the biotech industry align with the type of ecosystems we deliver across our campuses."

By embedding its facility within a modern life science campus, Mispro ensures its clients are at the center of a collaborative and resource-rich environment. This integration of specialized real estate and essential research services creates a powerful synergy that supports the entire lifecycle of biotech innovation, from discovery to development.

With this expansion, Mispro not only completes its national footprint but also plants a flag in one of the world's most important scientific communities. As San Diego's biotech sector continues to grow, the availability of flexible, high-quality infrastructure will be paramount. "It’s an opportunity to bring Mispro’s contract vivarium model into one of the world’s most important biotechnology communities, support the scientists advancing the next generation of therapeutics, and continue building alongside a region that will remain central to biotech innovation for decades to come,” concluded Tessier. The new facility represents a significant investment in the future of San Diego's life science ecosystem, promising to empower a new wave of scientific entrepreneurs.