ARC. and Imperial announce Leap Lab Pass winners

ARC West London and Imperial College London’s Imperial Incubator have announced the two winning startups of the Leap Lab Pass, awarding 12 months of fully funded lab space within the newly opened Leap shared laboratory at ARC West London’s Refinery building.

The two winners are Woost, a menstrual blood research company focused on advancing women’s health, and a stealth-mode biotech company, both selected for the strength of their science, ambition, and potential to deliver real-world impact. Each company will receive a fully funded space for 12 months, alongside onsite lab support and full access to Imperial Incubator’s wider startup ecosystem.

Leap is a new shared lab space by Imperial Incubator and located at ARC West London. It was officially opened late last year by Howard Dawber OBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, and was developed in response to strong demand for flexible, high-quality incubator space across London. The facility supports early-stage companies to remain and scale in the capital, helping address London’s shortage of lab infrastructure.

Leap has already seen strong demand for space, with five startups moving in within the first month. A second cohort including the winners of the Leap Lab Pass, Woost, and a stealth-mode biotech company will bring the total number of companies in Leap to ten by May.

The current group of innovators includes Solveteq, Reseda Life Sciences, Tachmed, IgEDAPT, and Sea2Carbon and Planet Smart.

Located within ARC’s 150,000 SFQ Refinery building at its Hammersmith Campus, Leap forms part of WestTech London, the innovation ecosystem at the heart of the capital that is driving job creation, attracting investment and strengthening the UK’s global leadership in science and technology.

The Leap Lab Pass competition was launched to celebrate the opening of Leap, offering startups the opportunity to accelerate their research within a world-class, collaborative lab environment. Winners benefit from Imperial Incubator’s proven “rent-by-the-bench” model, providing flexible access to science-ready workspaces, key equipment and expert support.

Jacob Harris, chief executive officer of one of the winning companies, said: “We’re thrilled to be selected for the Leap Lab Pass. ARC West London’s world-class facilities provide an outstanding foundation to accelerate product development and advance our next-generation technology. We’re grateful for the opportunity and excited to help shape the next wave of how people understand their health.”

Jim Stretton, managing director of ARC, commented: “The Leap Lab Pass was designed to remove barriers for exceptional early-stage companies, and we’re delighted to welcome Woost and our stealth-mode winner into the Leap community. These businesses represent the calibre of innovation we want to support at ARC West London, ambitious, science-led and focused on impact. Leap is already proving its value as a launchpad for the next generation of life sciences companies.”

Graham Hewson, head of Incubation and Prototyping Spaces at Imperial added: “Shared labs like Leap play a critical role in helping founders translate rigorous science into real-world solutions. By providing access to facilities, expertise and community, we are enabling startups to move faster and scale with confidence. The Leap Lab Pass winners exemplify the type of innovation we aim to support.”

Leap is located on the ground floor of Refinery, alongside ARC’s established accelerator Motherlabs, London’s first commercial science accelerator. ARC West London is already home to a growing community of life sciences and innovation-led organisations and sits close to Imperial’s White City and Hammersmith campuses, as well as major NHS partners.

Together, ARC and Imperial Incubator are continuing to strengthen West London’s innovation ecosystem, creating the conditions for early-stage science to scale into globally impactful businesses.