Today, BioMed Realty, the leading provider of real estate solutions to the life science community, announced its two newly developed Babraham Research Buildings in Cambridge are more than 50% let or under offer, including leases to PetMedix Ltd and Mission Therapeutics Ltd.
In October 2017, BioMed Realty and Babraham Research Campus launched a partnership, creating 100,000 square foot of research space for growing bioscience-based companies seeking to scale up their operations. BioMed@Babraham encompasses two adjacent buildings and the new facilities will provide a corporate campus feel to further promote innovation and strengthen links between academia and the commercial world. This project represents a £42 million investment in the Campus by BioMed Realty.
Colleen O’Connor, BioMed Realty’s Senior Director for the UK Market commented: “The Babraham Research Campus has been at the forefront of supporting scale-ups. BioMed@Babraham furthers this effort and offers growing life science companies access to first-class fitted lab and office space within the thriving Babraham Research Campus, which is already home to over 60 research organizations. We are excited to be moving forward on final fit-out construction for all suites, with tenants occupying as early as April 2020.”
As a sector at the cutting edge of science, the leaders of UK life sciences have continued working hard to raise capital for their R&D programmes. The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Informa Pharma Intelligence have released a report showing £182 million was raised by private biotech companies between December 2018 and the end of February 2019, almost £50 million more than during the same period a year earlier.
Dr Tom Weaver, CEO of PetMedix™ commented: “One of the real strengths of Cambridge for the biotech industry is its ability to both attract large companies and foster the growth of new ones. The ecosystem of academic research, thriving companies, and a highly skilled talent pool make it a perfect place to start and build a company. This success can make it challenging for companies like ours to secure the necessary space to grow in the current competitive commercial environment. PetMedix is entering a growth and expansion phase as we look to bring the power of antibody therapeutics to animal health, and this comes with a need to scale our physical footprint. We are tremendously excited to be one of the first two companies to move into BioMed Reality’s brand new, purpose-built premises on the renowned Babraham campus. BioMed has recognised the clear need for developments of this size and composition, and we are looking forward to establishing PetMedix at this new site and engaging with the vibrant research and development ecosystem of like-minded companies, both at Babraham and in the surrounding Cambridge cluster.”
Michael Jones, Director and Head of Commercial Division for Cheffins Commercial added: “Life Sciences in the UK continues to thrive, particularly the Cambridge cluster. Babraham offers a rare opportunity to lease new construction with purpose-built life science lab and office space in high-quality buildings. It’s not surprising there is tremendous interest.”
The sector currently contributes over £70 billion to the UK economy and provides jobs for almost 241,000 people across the country. According to data from business intelligence specialist, Vacancysoft, demand for professionals to work within the UK’s Life Sciences sector increased by 11% in 2018 – clinical vacancies rose the highest, with an increase of 37%, and demand for research and development professionals rose by 4.6%.
Dr Anker Lundemose, CEO of Mission Therapeutics added: “Fuelled by its established academic community and growing private sector, Cambridge has a strong science culture, which celebrates entrepreneurship and collaboration. As Mission has prospered and grown over the past seven years, we were forced to split the Company over two sites. The development of these new buildings by BioMed Realty at the Babraham Research Campus present us with the exciting opportunity to bring all our employees together again on one site, to facilitate open collaboration, improve efficiency and promote innovation in the field of mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and neurodegenerative disorders.”
BioMed Realty entered the Cambridge, UK market with the acquisition of Granta Park in 2012. As part of its continued growth in Cambridge, BioMed Realty formed a collaborative partnership with Babraham Bioscience Technologies in 2017 to build two new buildings on the Babraham Research Campus. Upon completion, the Babraham Research Campus project will bring BioMed Realty’s total presence in Cambridge to almost 900,000 square feet. The addition of BioMed Realty to the Babraham Research Campus supports the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s campus development strategy.
For more information on lettings and the remaining space, please contact Michael Jones, from Cheffins (01223 271971) who are letting agents on behalf of BioMed.
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About BioMed Realty
Founded in 2004, and a Blackstone portfolio company since 2016, BioMed Realty owns and operates high-quality life science real estate comprising 11 million square feet located in the leading innovation markets throughout the United States and United Kingdom, led by Boston-Cambridge, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, New York and Cambridge U.K. In addition, BioMed Realty maintains a premier development pipeline with two million square feet of Class A properties in active construction to meet the growing demand of the life science industry. With over 200 tenant partners, BioMed Realty provides real estate solutions for global enterprises, established biotechnology and innovation companies, leading universities and premier research institutions. Follow us on Twitter @biomedrealty.
About PetMedix™
PetMedix™ is a Cambridge, UK based research and development stage biopharmaceutical company developing antibody-based therapeutics for companion animals. The growing team have over 30 years’ experience building platforms that can develop species-specific therapeutic antibodies. Driven by the core value of improving the health and welfare of animals, PetMedix™ is taking the cutting edge of human medicine and using it to develop innovative new veterinary treatments against a wide range of clinical indications for dogs and for cats.
Website: https://www.petmedix.co.uk
Twitter: @PetMedix, LinkedIn: PetMedix, Facebook: @PetMedix, Instagram: @PetMedix
About Mission Therapeutics
Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis. Mission has a collaboration in the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. It also has strong links with academic and research centres, such as Prof. Steve Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. For more information, please visit our website, http://www.missiontherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.