Scrappy New Orleans biotech ‘freshmen’ look to make the move from lab to market

For more than a decade, the New Orleans BioInnovation Center has worked to make its portion of Canal Street something entirely different from the retail corridor or hotel haven that it's been for the last century.

The nonprofit business incubator, focused on life sciences, serves as a launching pad for innovative companies dreaming up the medicines and medical technology of the future.

While biotech hubs like Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Raleigh-Durham are home to thousands of startups, some with valuations in the billions, NOBIC has helped launch about 200 smaller-scale ventures since its inception.

But there are some signs of momentum.

Since June, three new biotech startups have signed leases for lab space at NOBIC's 66,000-square-foot headquarters.

The San Diego-based b