The Antares Advanced Design Laboratories were facilities used by Starfleet in order to design and test new technology. Three years prior to the Tomed Incident, a famous act of espionage was uncovered in which it was revealed that a woman working there was actually a Romulan spy. This hindered Starfleet's ability to develop a new method of penetrating a Romulan cloak. (ST - The Lost Era novel: Serpents Among the Ruins)