BioWell Assumes Operations of Texas BioTechnology’s 13,000L CDMO Facility

• BioWell, a nonprofit accelerator founded by First Bight Ventures, has taken over operations of the Texas BioTechnology pilot facility in Richmond, TX, offering CDMO services and education programmes.

• The 33,000-square-foot site includes 13,000L of fermentation capacity and is now the largest publicly accessible industrial biomanufacturing facility in the United States.

BioWell, a Houston-based nonprofit accelerator established by First Bight Ventures, has officially taken over the operations of Texas BioTechnology’s pilot plant in Richmond, Texas. The facility offers 13,000 litres of fermentation capacity, CDMO services, bioprocessing capabilities, and advanced lab space for industrial biomanufacturing.

The handover comes amid growing national attention on the need for domestic biomanufacturing scale-up infrastructure. According to BioWell, the site will also support workforce development through hands-on training for students and current professionals. The fully operational facility aims to provide early-stage companies with the tools to advance their biotechnological innovations to market readiness.

“As a Houston-based accelerator dedicated exclusively to early-stage biomanufacturing startups, partnering with this facility was a natural and highly strategic decision for us,” said Veronica Breckenridge, Founder of First Bight Ventures and BioWell.

The 33,000-square-foot climate-controlled facility includes molecular biology labs, automation technologies, and 16 dedicated benches for emerging companies. It is now recognised as the largest publicly accessible industrial biomanufacturing facility in the U.S.

With this expansion, BioWell aims to fill a critical infrastructure gap that often forces companies to scale abroad, risking loss of domestic R&D and IP. The site is expected to foster closer ties between biomanufacturing and Houston’s chemical industry, offering contract manufacturing and scale-up services to accelerate the bio-based transition in chemical production.