CHARLESTON, S.C. — New Orleans biotechnology firm Obatala Sciences has opened its first East Coast operation in Charleston County, leasing space at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Blue Sky Labs and pledging dozens of new jobs.
A state announcement put the investment at $656,000 and said the project will create 46 jobs and training opportunities in biotechnology and related fields. A separate account described the company as investing nearly $660,000 and seeking biologists, bio technicians and workers with biotechnology degrees.
Obatala develops and manufactures biomaterials, stem cells, media and advanced tissue models used in preclinical medical research. The Blue Sky Labs site is described as a rentable space for students, researchers and entrepreneurs, and company leaders said operations are already online.
CEO Trivia Frazier said the Charleston move builds a bridge between the New Orleans headquarters and South Carolina’s life sciences community while expanding domestic biomanufacturing capacity. Average wages were listed at about $46 per hour in one account of the hiring plan.
Gov. Henry McMaster welcomed the company and the 46 jobs planned for Charleston County. Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey said the investment supports growth in the state’s life sciences sector.
Charleston County Council Chairman Joe Boykin and Charleston Regional Development Alliance board chairman Will Russell also praised the Blue Sky Labs partnership with MUSC as part of the region’s expanding life sciences ecosystem.
