News from the life sciences community north of Boston
|
|
|
"Cambridge is full." The lack of availability in Cambridge - now and in the near future - is one takeaway from the Colliers Q3 '21 Boston Lab Report. With record low vacancy, demand is radiating out to all corners of the greater Boston market, most notably, MetroNorth.
The Commonwealth's leading life sciences organizations, including MassBio and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) are seizing this opportunity to shape the future of the industry in Massachusetts. The groups are advocating for opportunities to retain and attract life sciences companies, supporting workforce development and diversity efforts as well as promoting lab and manufacturing opportunities in the suburbs. The MetroNorth region is particularly well suited to serve this need, with rapid growth already underway.
|
|
One example is Vaxess Technologies, which recently celebrated the grand opening of a new cGMP manufacturing facility for its microneedle patch at 30 Cummings Park in Woburn. Vaxess has expanded two times in Woburn to support 2022 clinical trials using seasonal flu and COVID-19 antigens.
Attending the ribbon cutting were (l to r) Rep. Richard Haggerty; MassBio CEO Joe Boncore; Sen. Cindy Friedman; Vaxess CEO Michael Schrader, Cummings president Eric Anderson, and Kenn Turner, CEO of Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Photo credit: Duncan Lake, Cresa
|
|
While in Woburn, the MLSC leadership team visited the TradeCenter 128 campus, where significant office-to-lab conversion is taking place. Our thanks to Gavin Braithwaite, vice president of research for Cambridge Polymer Group (left photo, on right), and Simon Xi, co-founder and CEO of Rgenta Therapeutics (right photo, on right) for providing overviews of their technology and tours of their new office and lab facilities.
|
|
"The Life Sciences Center is committed to working collaboratively to accelerate innovation and regional growth, in addition to strengthening and diversifying our workforce. I am confident in our ability to reach new heights for our ecosystem because of partners such as Cummings Properties. We look forward to continuing to work together with the Cummings team to expand opportunity in the life sciences across Massachusetts.”
- Kenn Turner
President and CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
|
|
|
|
New Frontier Bio and Resolute Bio, two sister companies, have expanded from incubator space at West Cummings Park in Woburn to Emerging Tech Center at 48 Dunham Ridge in Beverly. Stephen Kennedy Smith is founder of both companies.
New Frontier Bio is a consumer health company utilizing biopharma principles to identify and optimize natural compounds for commercial use. Resolute Bio, focused on protein therapeutics, uses novel peptide chemistry technology to leverage red blood cells as carriers for protein drugs. This technology has the potential to dramatically reduce immune response to protein drugs and extend their functional life span.
|
|
Construction is well underway for a significant expansion of 299 Washington Street in Woburn, the future home of SeromYx Systems. The company uses proprietary tools to provide its clients with insight into antibody function so that they can discover and develop better vaccines, immunotherapies, drugs, and diagnostics. SeromYx operates on a fee-for-service CRO business model with no entanglement of client IP. Piers Whitehead is the company's CEO.
|
|
|
|
|
Another new addition to Beverly's Emerging Tech Center is Viron Therapeutics, a life sciences company developing next-generation anti-viral therapeutics. Viron's novel therapies are focused on its "Membrane & Immuno-technology" platform, designed to mitigate virus infections such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV and hepatitis, and treat cancer and diabetes. Octavian Bucur, M.D., Ph.D., is vice president, medical affairs, and co-founder of Viron. The company is currently based in Boston and will soon relocate to Dunham Ridge.
|
|
Molecular diagnostics company LexaGene (500 Cummings Center, Beverly) was recently featured in Cleanroom Technology. The company, which offers the MiQLab System to detect contaminants, has expanded it biopharmaceutical contamination panel to include a Burkholderia test. Earlier this year, the FDA advised drug manufacturers to test for Burkholderia, which has increasingly been found to be the cause of recalled products.
|
|
Nth Cycle (100 Cummings Center, Beverly) was one of 20 companies selected to compete in the well-known Tech Crunch Disrupt conference, earning second place. Nth Cycle has developed an electro-extraction system to turn waste from the battery recycling process into valuable minerals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Listen to TechCrunch's recent interview with Megan.
|
|
|
|
"To me, this recognition underscores a larger shift in perception and investing attention towards climate change solutions and hard tech problems."
Megan O'Connor, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO, Nth Cycle
|
|
ReForm Biologics (12 Gill Street, Woburn), a company developing a new generation of bio-innovative biologic medicines to improve patient access, safety, and convenience, recently announced that Robert Mahoney, Ph.D., has been promoted to chief scientific officer, and Kevin Kavanaugh, CPA, has been promoted to chief financial officer.
|
|
cGMP Manufacturing Facility Available in Woburn - 60,000 SF
|
|
This FDA-certified cGMP drug manufacturing facility, formerly occupied by Amgen, is
available for lease as of January 1. Features include:
- Two-story 60,000-square-foot stand-alone cGMP manufacturing facility
- Lab, clean room, office, shipping and receiving with multiple loading docks, and maintenance/inventory areas
- ISO 5, ISO 7, and ISO 8 zones with CNC support areas
- Maintenance catwalk system above manufacturing area
- State-of-the-art building management system for laboratory/manufacturing areas
- Purified water system, pure steam generator, and water for injection system
- CO2 gas distribution system
- Back-up generator
- Expansion potential
|
|
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Make new professional connections and gain visibility for your life sciences enterprise via this newsletter. If you have news to share, contact Sue Howland at svh@cummings.com. Please forward this edition to additional members of your team or others in your network who would benefit from its informative content, or send us email addresses for colleagues who would like to receive future updates.
|
|
Our partners at Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) will soon launch the next round of its Tax Incentive program supporting companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing in Massachusetts. The program provides incentives to companies of all sizes looking to expand their efforts by creating new, long-term jobs in Massachusetts.
Cummings Properties is proud to host MLSC’s informational session for companies wanting to learn more about the eligibility requirements of the Tax Incentive program. Join us on at TradeCenter 128 in Woburn on Thursday, December 16 at 11:00 AM. Advance registration is required.
|
|
When expanding beyond incubator space and launching or growing independent lab space, it is essential to have a safety program in place.
|
|
MassBioEd recently honored four Champions for Biotechnology Education at its 6th Annual Awards Reception. Governor Charlie Baker provided keynote remarks, and MassBioEd celebrated 20 years of building a talented and diverse life sciences workforce. Catch up on the event and view the recording here.
|
|
Governor Charlie Baker (r) is seen here with MassBioEd chair of the board Chris Murphy, vice president and general manager of Viral Vector Services at Thermo Fisher Scientific (l), and MassBioEd CEO Sunny Schwartz.
|
|
|
Nikon Eclipse Ti2-U Inverted Phase Contrast Fluorescence Microscope
Specifications:
- Prior ES107NTE with Optiscan 3
- Fluorescence TRITC cube
- Photometrics Coolsnap DYNO
- Phase condenser
- Lumencor Solar Epi Light source lower fluorescence turret 535nm cube
- Coherent OBIS 488 Laser Mod 150nm to Thor launch
- 2x Plan UV , 10x Fluor, 40x PA or .95NA, 40x Fluor 1.3NA oil, 100x clone RMS 1.25 oil
- OKO Lab Stage top Incubator with controller
- Newport Isolation anti-vibration 3’ / 4’ Tables with blackened enclosures access doors in front and rear including laser safety switch
Asking $62,000 or best offer.
|
|
On Friday, November 12, Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) hosted the inaugural Education and Workforce Development Conference at Gloucester Biotechnology Academy in its new state-of-the-art biomanufacturing learning lab. The event was sponsored by Cummings Foundation, which awarded GMGI $100,000 this June to support GMGI's efforts to catalyze the regional economy and create a vibrant science community on Cape Ann.
|
|
Lily Fitzgerald, manager of policy and partnerships, Ginkgo Bioworks; Brian Anderson, president, MassMEDIC, Kendall Burlin-O'Connell, president, MassBio; Kenn Turner, president and CEO of MLSC; Ryan Mudawar, vice president of education and workforce programs, MLSC; John Doyle, education director, GMGI; and Chris Bolzan, executive director, GMGI.
|
|
STAT Summit 2021 will convene corporate executives, top scientists, patient advocates, and government officials for spirited discussions with each other and STAT's award-winning reporters. November 16 - 18 (hybrid). Register.
|
|
The Business Side of a Biotech Startup presented by BioXchange. Brent Meadows will share insights from his role as chief business officer and U.S. general manager of OncoOne, a biotech startup dedicated to developing innovative therapeutics to treat patients with solid tumors and inflammatory conditions. Networking will follow the presentation. Wednesday, November 17, 4:00 - 7:00 PM. (virtual). Register.
|
|
Have news to share? Please let us know! We are interested in company news, personnel changes, product launches, funding updates, events, and more. Contact Sue Howland, client engagement manager, at svh@cummings.comto share your news for upcoming newsletters. We look forward to hearing from you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
