Fostering Innovation: Rachel Rath on JLABS' and Building BioHealth Success Across the Mid-Atlantic Ecosystem

At the TEDCO Entrepreneurial Expo in Baltimore, Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks interviewed Rachel Rath, the Head of JLABS at Washington, DC, to discuss the innovation ecosystem in the Mid-Atlantic region. JLABS, the incubator arm of Johnson & Johnson, supports early-stage companies with both tangible resources such as lab and office space and intangible benefits like mentorship from industry experts. Rachel highlighted the collaborative efforts between JLABS and TEDCO, emphasizing their joint mission to strengthen the innovation landscape by supporting companies with programming and visibility opportunities.

Rachel also detailed the dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem spanning DC, Virginia, and Maryland, praising the region's abundant talent and expertise. This includes individuals with years of government experience in areas such as regulatory affairs and funding. She shared success stories from JLABS, noting it has been a challenging year for funding, but several companies have made significant strides, such as raising investment rounds, securing SBIR applications, and receiving grants from ARPA H. Rachel expressed excitement about what lies ahead, indicating further growth and success stories in 2025 as JLABS continues to build bridges and support businesses in the BioHealth Capital Region.

About Rachel 

Rachel is responsible for setting the strategic direction and overseeing all operational activities for JLABS @ Washington, DC. Her responsibilities include P&L management, external engagement, innovation sourcing, portfolio management, and operational excellence in collaboration with the team responsible for the site and the region. In addition to managing the business of JLABS, Rachel is responsible for the process of evaluating, selecting and accelerating a strong portfolio of innovators connected to JLABS @ Washington, DC, which supports companies across the broader region.

Prior to this role, Rachel served as the inaugural Director of the BARDA Alliance for Johnson & Johnson Innovation. As BARDA Alliance Director, she was responsible for managing BLUE KNIGHT™, a joint initiative between JLABS and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which aims to stimulate the innovation and incubation of science and technologies. Rachel led the strategic direction, alliance management, and oversight of all operational activities related to BLUE KNIGHT™, including managing the sourcing and selection of high potential companies for JLABS locations and developing global programming including the annual BLUE KNIGHT™ Symposium.

Before joining JLABS, Rachel was the Chief of Staff for the National Evaluation System for health Technology Coordinating Center (NESTcc)—an initiative of the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC)—that was established with funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was recognized in September 2019 as one of the first collaborative communities with participation by the FDA. Prior to joining NESTcc, Rachel worked at PCORI, helping to launch the Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet), a national effort to engage patients and leverage electronic health data to improve the speed and efficiency of clinical research in the United States. Rachel received her MBA from Georgetown University and MPH in global health policy from The George Washington University.

About the TEDCO Expo

The TEDCO Expo is a premier event in Maryland showcasing various resources from across the State and is jam-packed full of workshops, roundtable discussions, exhibiting companies and pitches, opening up great opportunities for entrepreneurs to network, learn, and be inspired. Learn more at: https://www.tedcomd.com/tedcos-2024-entrepreneur-expo.

Watch the full interview or dig in with the transcript below. 

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:00:04]:
Welcome to TEDCO's Entrepreneurial Expo in downtown Baltimore where the region's top business owners, innovators and investors have gathered to network, grow and celebrate the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem here in the Maryland region. I'm Chris Frew with BioBuzz Networks and I'm honored today to be here with Rachel Rath, head of JLABS Washington DC. Rachel, thank you for joining me.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:00:26]:
Thanks for having me, Chris.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:00:27]:
My pleasure. Would you take a couple minutes to just introduce our audience to you and to what you do at JLABS?

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:00:33]:
Absolutely. I'm Rachel Rath, the head of JLABS at Washington DC and JLABS at Washington D. C. Is part of the global JLABS network. JLABS is the incubator arm of Johnson and Johnson. So we're a no strings attached incubator model supporting early stage companies around the world. So it's my privilege to get to lead our site here in the Mid Atlantic, which is based at JLABS at Washington DC

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:00:55]:
where we've been open for about three years now, supporting early stage companies across this region. So currently we have about 45 companies connected into our site that we're across innovative medicine in the pharma space as well as medtech, and we're helping companies through programming and mentorship and visibility and physical space where they need it, from a lab or office perspective, hit those critical inflection points on their way to commercialization.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:01:21]:
Could you unpack that a little more for me and tell like, what are some of those programs that you do offer? How do companies take advantage of that?

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:01:29]:
Yeah, absolutely. So we think about the ways that we support companies as really different wraparound opportunities, both the tangible. When we think about that physical space that companies may need. Right. Whether it's biolabs or chemistry labs, culture space, prototyping space for medical devices, or if it's office space as well as the intangible. So companies that come into JLABS get mentorship from Johnson and Johnson and that's both scientific mentorship from different therapeutic area experts as well as whether it's regulatory or marketing, other things that are business critical to making their company as successful. And then companies also have a lot of programming and visibility opportunities. So we bring in experts, whether that's on the venture side of things.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:02:19]:
Right. Raising money is always an important part of what these startups are trying to do. Or again on the regulatory side, we also do a lot of programming and visibility opportunities. So how do we position the companies into the market so they're getting the visibility and the, the recognition really to drive their science forward as well. So other types of connectivity as well, whether that's on the venture side or service providers. But we think about how we can holistically help companies advance their science.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:02:48]:
And tell me a little bit about your relationship with TEDCO and the collaborative efforts that you and TEDCO are working together.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:02:55]:
Absolutely. And you mentioned we're here at this fantastic event and this is a great example of how we like to engage with the ecosystem. So there are several JLABS companies who are part of the agenda today, which is really exciting to see, both in speaking spots as well as exhibiting in the hall, showing off their exciting technologies. So we engage across the reaching. So I referenced us as sort of sitting here in the Mid Atlantic. We're JLABS at Washington DC we are based in the District, but we don't just support companies here or I should say we don't support companies just in the District. A lot of our companies are sitting in Virginia as well.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:03:29]:
They're sitting in Maryland. So one of our really great areas of synergy and overlap with TEDCO is a phenomenal resource and support that they bring to companies supporting Maryland. So we have companies that may have physical space at JLABS at DC and elsewhere in Maryland that are part of the TEDCO portfolio as well. So when we think about that almost overlap of the Venn diagram of JLABS portfolio and TEDCO portfolio, it's really how can we support those companies in the overlap. In addition, I would say both JLABS and TeDCo are really here to support and enhance the ecosystem. So we're very committed to creating a thriving innovation ecosystem. And part of doing that is working really synergistically together.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:04:11]:
And that includes the mentorship and the programming and visibility opportunities that can maybe be beyond companies just in Maryland. I will say here we're seeing companies from Virginia and from outside of Maryland here today as well.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:04:25]:
I think you make a great point around, an important point to, to our audience to understand is what the greater ecosystem looks like they call the capital region.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:04:35]:
Right.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:04:35]:
You're in DC, Virginia, Maryland. Could you talk to me a little bit about that? Like how do you describe to someone who's not in the area like what this ecosystem is, like what and why it's such a great place to start a company and maybe kind of your vision for what it can become.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:04:50]:
One of the things I think is so interesting is I think from the outside, outside of this region, people can think of it as really pretty confined, but we actually cover A pretty broad geographic area. We're up in Baltimore today. Right. It's not a stone's throw, I don't know from DC we're down into Virginia. So the geography that we cover is actually pretty widespread and I think that's important for our ecosystem and it speaks to the strengths. This area has incredible talent looking at the universities, but also the, the federal partners that are based here. And that's talent directly to support the companies, but also candidly, just the expertise.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:05:33]:
So many of the stakeholders that you see out there today at this event have spent decades in government working in regulatory, interacting with regulatory agencies, going after non dilutive funding, maybe writing non diluted funding announcements that companies are going after so that the talent and the expertise is incredibly robust. I do think there's a lot that we can still do to bring the various partners in the ecosystem. I know that you all are trying to do that as well, come together more. So we have this united support system for companies across the region.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:06:09]:
It's a great vision. I think it's, I often say, entrepreneurs don't see geographic boundaries.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:06:15]:
Yeah, I mean, arguably in DC though, you do have to cross a river. The Virginia to DC border, you know, when you're crossing bridges can be hard to maybe miss.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:06:25]:
Sounds like JLABS is kind of making bridges though.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:06:28]:
That's our goal. And I would say, you know, we, we don't see the boundaries between the states. And one of the things that's been exciting to see here is companies outside of Maryland and Virginia who want to set up their footprints here in the biohealth capital region. So we have companies that connect into us virtually from Minneapolis. Right. But they're building relationships here in this region and this is where they want to be tethered to from a strategic standpoint. So it's exciting to see these companies really from all over the country and all over the world build their connectivity here into our regions.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:07:04]:
Are there any success stories or new programs that you're excited about that you can share with us today?

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:07:10]:
Yeah, I mean, I think it's been a really exciting year. 2024 has been a real year of growth for JLABS at Washington DC and I think 2025 is going to be even more exciting. A couple of success stories. It's been a tough year for funding for early stage companies. We've had a number of our portfolio companies successfully close rounds. So I think that's very exciting for them. And what that allows them to do is continue to advance those solutions for patients.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:07:36]:
It allows them to Continue hiring talent and expanding those teams here in the region. So the companies that have raised those rounds, really big success I'd say. On the other side we've had companies that have had their first successful SBIR applications. Right. That also is a success and a big accomplishment for those companies. We've had several JLABS DC companies successfully get funding from ARPA H. One of them in particular, Algometrics, got multimillion dollars from the Women's Sprint initiative. So that's an extreme exciting accomplishment for that company.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:08:09]:
Our JLABS at Washington DC location is anchored on the Children's National Research and Innovation campus. That company is actually a children's national spin out that has moved into JLABS now. Seeing them get these exciting opportunities to move their science forward, it's fantastic. We've also recently had a number of companies move in to start their US footprints here in this area. So one company in particular, an Israeli company, recently set up what's their US entity here based on the local talent coming out of this ecosystem. So they hired a new Chief Scientific officer who's based here and they're building out that scientific team here around that individual based on local talent. So also extremely exciting to see see the pull into our ecosystem.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:08:58]:
So listen, I can talk all day about success stories for this region and things that I think have been particular highlights of 2024. But I think there's just more to come in 25.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:09:09]:
So come back next year because the list is going to be longer is what I hear.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:09:12]:
Absolutely. It gets longer every year, right?

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:09:15]:
Well, biotech or medtech commercialization innovation does take many years. You mentioned some success stories. But all these companies need really strong partners like TEDCO, like JLABS to help them get there. And, and we appreciate everything you do in the partnership to help these companies grow here in the mid Atlantic, here in the capital region where again you're building bridges and building companies. So thank you for your time today and helping to share all that you're doing with us and let you get back out to the program where you can network with all your, you know, JLABS companies that are here today.

Rachel Rath, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC [00:09:50]:
Fantastic. Thank you so much, Chris.

Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz Networks [00:09:51]:
Yeah, my pleasure. My name is Chris Frew with BioBuzz Networks. We're here live today at the TEDCO Expo in Baltimore.