Life Sciences Clusters
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SPECIAL REPORT In Praise of Lesser-Sung Life Sciences Clusters By Alex Philippidis hen U.S. life sciences clusters are dis- the University of Texas Health Science Center at cussed, the top two—the Boston/Cam- Houston, and the University of Texas MD Ander- bridge cluster and the San Francisco Bay son Cancer Center. WArea cluster—usually dominate the conversation. MD Anderson on April 15 completed its $15 Across the Yet many of the nation’s other clusters also stand million acquisition of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals’ country—not just out as centers for life sciences activity. 60,000-square-foot Houston facility, including “Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego are manufacturing, office, and laboratory space, in a in Boston and always going to be really important to the overall cost-cutting move for the cancer cellular immuno- San Francisco— drug discovery and development model. [But] other therapy developer. MD Anderson will operate the regions … are going to … play an important role as Houston facility for its own internal programs and work on cell and well. I think Houston is going to be one of those,” for manufacturing Bellicum’s GoCAR and other cell gene therapies, observes Ann Tanabe, CEO of BioHouston, which therapy products, supplying clinical trials and po- coronavirus promotes its namesake region as a vigorous global tentially sustaining early commercial activity. competitor in life science and biotechnology com- Last year, MD Anderson signaled its intent to vaccines and drugs, mercialization. actively translate basic research into new biolog- and other boons Houston’s life sciences ecosystem is best known ic drugs. The institution appointed Jason Bock, for its concentration of research institutions, includ- PhD, vice president and head of biologics product continues apace ing Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Methodist, development. See more lists online GENengnews.com/a-lists The MD Anderson Cancer Center recently acquired a 60,000-square-foot Houston, TX, facility from Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a cancer cellular immunotherapy developer. 46 | JUNE 2020 | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | GENengnews.com SPECIAL REPORT patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Chapel Hill, each of which contributes ele- HOUSTON “They have become a focal point for sell- ments to Research Triangle Park (RTP). The Cultivates cell and gene ing gene therapy not just within the region region offers the lowest operating biomanu- therapy growth here, but also to their clients and the compa- facturing costs of any U.S. biopharma loca- Although Houston is best known for nies that they’re working with, who are also tion at $37.2 million per year, according to a world-famous institutions such as MD Ander- then getting introduced to what Houston recently published analysis from John Boyd, son and Baylor College of Medicine, Tanabe has to offer,” Tanabe adds. CEO of the Boyd Company, a site selection says, the region is also home to a growing One attraction Houston held for Lonza, advisory company in Princeton, NJ. community of companies focused on develop- she points out, is lower housing costs RTP was established in 1959 to facilitate ing or manufacturing cell and gene therapies. compared with many top-tier life sciences collaboration among the region’s universi- Catalent expanded to Houston in February clusters. The median price of a single-family ties, promote academic-industry coopera- when it completed its acquisition of MaSTher- home in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar tion, and create economic benefit for citizens Cell, a Gosselies, Belgium-based contract Land region stood at $245,700 in the fourth of North Carolina. For more than a genera- development and manufacturing organization quarter of 2019, according to the National tion, the region attracted the manufacturing focused on cell and gene therapy, from Association of Realtors’ Metropolitan Medi- operations of pharma giants eager to tap Orgenesis, which received proceeds of approx- an Home Prices and Affordability Index. into that innovation while reducing costs imately $127 million from the $315 million “From a housing perspective, we have over Northeast locations. More recently, transaction. The deal brought Catalent a something for everybody,” Tanabe empha- Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill/RTP has en- 32,000-square-foot U.S. facility in Houston, set sizes. “If you want suburban life, we have joyed a series of completed and announced to focus on development-scale projects when it that. If you want city life, we have that. It’s expansions by biopharmas. opens upon completion of validation activities. probably one of the few places in the coun- AveXis, a Novartis company, in February Lonza Group produces such treatments try where if you’re building a workforce, officially opened a $115 million manufactur- in what it calls the world’s largest dedicated everybody within your workforce can find cell-and-gene-therapy facility in the Houston housing for themselves.” RALEIGH–DURHAM–CHAPEL suburb of Pearland, TX. Opened in 2018, HILL/RTC—Targeting COVID-19 the Lonza Houston Center of Excellence is Grifols is partnering with BARDA, the U.S. RALEIGH–DURHAM Food and Drug Administration, and other designed to address process development CHAPEL HILL federal public health agencies to support from concept; to preclinical, clinical, and Research Triangle Park maintains commercialization work; to patient dos- low biomanufacturing costs preclinical and clinical studies assessing ing. Last October, Lonza agreed that the if plasma from convalescent COVID-19 Houston facility would manufacture Prevail Also promoting a cost advantage over the patients, processed into a hyperimmune Therapeutics’ pipeline of novel adeno-asso- largest clusters is the North Carolina region globulin at its Clayton facility, can success- ciated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for that encompasses Raleigh, Durham, and fully treat the virus. Durham-based BioCryst Pharmaceu- ticals is testing its broad-spectrum anti- HOUSTON—Targeting COVID-19 viral therapy galidesivir against COVID-19 Moleculin Biotech, based in Houston, TX, has joined ImQuest Biosciences to expand in Brazil. Research Triangle Park-based in vitro and in vivo testing of WP1122, a glucose decoy prodrug, after researchers at the Cellex on April 1 won FDA Emergency Goethe University in Frankfurt reported that it inhibited SARS-CoV–2 replication by 100% Use Authorization for the qSARS-CoV-2 in Caco-2 cells. IgG/IgM Rapid Test, the first COVID-19 Another Houston drug developer, Pulmotect, has spent a decade working with the antibody-based test to gain the designa- University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas A&M University to develop tion. Also, Seqirus is providing adjuvant PUL-042, a combination of two Toll-like receptor agonist ligands that in January showed for experimental COVID-19 vaccines from preclinical efficacy in mouse models against both SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) its Holly Springs campus, where it is com- and MERS-associated coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The drug was initially developed to treat pleting a $140 million expansion of its cancer patients susceptible to respiratory infections. cell-based flu vaccine factory. GENengnews.com | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | JUNE 2020 | 47 SPECIAL REPORT ing site in Durham to support production of a research laboratory there. He established Zolgensma® (onasemnogene abeparvovec) global leadership in commercializing the and other gene therapies. In January, Eli Lilly use of the AAV as a vector in delivering and Company announced plans to build a gene therapy as a co-founder of Asklepios $474 million pharma manufacturing plant BioPharmaceutical (AskBio). Samulski was in the Durham County portion of RTP, cre- also scientific founder of an AskBio spin- ating 462 new jobs. out, Bamboo Therapeutics of Chapel Hill, Last year, bluebird bio opened its first and served as its chief scientific officer and wholly owned manufacturing facility in executive chairman until it was acquired by Durham, where it produces lentiviral vector Pfizer in 2016 for $645 million. for the company’s investigational gene and cell therapies, while Pfizer announced a SAN DIEGO $500 million facility expansion in Sanford, Generations of serial entrepreneurs NC, projected to add 300 jobs to the site’s At Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ Global 650 employees. The presence of researchers capable of Research Center in San Diego, CA, 250 Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill/RTP ac- launching and growing successful business- employees are working to advance discovery in gastroenterology and counts for over 60% (40,000) of North Car- es has made the San Diego region among neuroscience. Biocom olina’s more than 66,000 life sciences em- longtime leaders in life sciences, stretching ployees, and over 70% (525) of the state’s back to the creation of the region’s first bio- activity across California. 735 life sciences companies, says Jim Shamp, tech, La Jolla-based Hybritech, in 1978 by “We’ve got that depth of experience of a spokesperson for the state-funded North co-founders Ivor Royston, MD, and How- serial entrepreneurs, many, many of whom Carolina Biotechnology Center, created in ard C. Birndorf. are still very, very much active in the indus- 1984 to advance the industry statewide and “I think sometimes people don’t real- try here today,” Panetta continues. “Yet that wean the state’s economy from the declining ize that when companies like Genentech early group of serial entrepreneurs has now tobacco, textiles, and furniture sectors. were being formed [in San Francisco], and handed the reins to the second or third gen- A Biotech Center grant in 1993 enabled companies like Biogen were being formed eration of entrepreneurs following them, so the recruitment to the University of North in the Boston area, that Hybritech was that depth of serial entrepreneurial experi- Carolina at Chapel Hill of R. Jude Samu- being formed here,” says Joseph Panetta, ence goes way, way back—about 40 years.” lski, PhD, who led the university’s Gene president and CEO of Biocom, a San Di- Hybritech went public in 1981, and Therapy Center for 25 years and still heads ego-based group promoting life sciences five years later was acquired by Eli Lilly for $480 million.