Life Sciences Clusters

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.

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The MD Anderson Cancer Center recently acquired a 60,000-square-foot Houston, TX, facility from Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a cancer cellular immunotherapy developer.

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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. Eli Lilly remains among biopharma anchors in San Diego, and in January the company partnered with Menlo Park, CA-based Strateos to complete the 11,500-square-foot Lilly Life Sciences Stu- dio. The companies built a robotic laboratory that is designed to accelerate drug discovery within Lilly’s San Diego Biotechnology Center, where the pharma giant completed a $90 million expansion in 2017. Another biopharma giant in San Diego is Takeda Pharmaceutical, which last year opened a 165,000-square-foot Global Re- search Center where 250 employees apply specialized drug discovery technologies and advance discovery research in gastroenterology and neuroscience. Pfizer announced a $500 million facility expansion in Sanford, NC, designed to enable the pharma giant to increase its manufacturing of gene therapies in the state. “We’ve got the geographic density, with

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90% of our biotech being located within institutes—the Salk Institute for Biological promoted, and seen, growing collabora- a radius of about five miles or so from the Studies, the Scripps Research Institute, San- tion between its anchors in government, Sorrento Mesa/Sorrento Valley area stretch- ford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery academia, and industry—especially in the ing up to Del Mar and out to La Jolla, and Institute (SBP), and the La Jolla Institute for months since COVID-19 began wreaking across to the Mesa as well,” Panetta points Allergy and Immunology—are all within havoc upon the world. out. “In San Diego, we’ve got a uniqueness very, very close proximity to each other.” The region isn’t the only one that has in that our research centers and Morris Can- The institutions, he adds, partner with seen new R&D related to the virus, but it cer Center at the University of California, each other, one example being the Sanford is perhaps best positioned given its anchor San Diego, along with the private research Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, employers. They include staffers at the where UCSD, La Jolla, Salk, SBP, and U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), SAN DIEGO—Targeting COVID-19 Scripps, pursue collaborative research. which bases most of its 19,000 employees Homegrown Inovio Pharmaceuticals The Sanford Consortium operates from a (including some 6000 researchers) at its was among developers of COVID-19 drug research facility funded in part with a $43 Bethesda headquarters, as well as staffers and vaccine candidates highlighted by million grant from the California Institute for at the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy CBS’ 60 Minutes for its DNA vaccine INO- Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell and Infectious Diseases, whose director, 4800, now under Phase I study. INO-4800 agency on whose board Panetta serves, and a Anthony S. Fauci, MD, has figured promi- is also in a Phase I/II trial in South Korea $30 million donation from philanthropist T. nently at President Donald Trump’s Coro- with the International Vaccine Institute Denny Sanford of South Dakota, for whom navirus Task Force briefings. The BHCR (IVI) and the Korea National Institute of the Sanford Consortium was renamed. region’s anchors also include the U.S. Food Health, for which the Coalition for Epi- and Drug Administration (FDA), Johns Hopkins University (the top recipient of demic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) BIOHEALTH CAPITAL REGION has granted Inovio $6.9 million. Positioned for pandemic and beyond NIH grant funding last year according to GEN), and the Centers for Medicare and The Maryland/Virginia/Washington, Medicaid Services. DC BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) has “I think people around the world are

MARYLAND–VIRGINIA–WASHINGTON, DC—Targeting COVID-19 In the BioHealth Capital region, Gaithers- burg, MD-based Novavax is developing COVID-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373, which the company indicated would be in a Phase I trial starting in May. The company has tapped another Gaithersburg-based company, Emergent BioSolutions, to Inovio Pharmaceuticals, based in San begin GMP clinical production and arrange Diego, CA, is focused on developing for large-scale manufacturing. DNA medicines, including INO-4800, a DNA vaccine that could protect Separately, Emergent has received $14.5 against COVID-19. Biocom million from the Biomedical Advanced Re- search and Development Authority (BARDA) CalciMedica is evaluating the small- to support development of its COVID-Hu- molecule CRAC channel inhibitor man Immune Globulin (COVID-HIG), a CM4620-IE in patients with severe human plasma-derived therapy candidate COVID-19 pneumonia who are at risk for Emergent BioSolutions produces being developed to treat COVID-19 in severely progression to acute respiratory distress medical countermeasures that address affected, hospitalized, and high-risk patients. public health threats. syndrome. The company has begun an Emergent BioSolutions via BioHealth Capital Region In Vienna, VA, Cel-Sci is developing its LEAPS open-label Phase II study set to enroll COVID-19 immunotherapy in partnership with 60 patients. the University of Georgia’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology.

GENengnews.com | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | JUNE 2020 | 49 SPECIAL REPORT

starting to recognize there are distinct ad- is promoting an expansive vision of the Takeda last month wrapped up FDA pre- Applikon Biotechnology vantages to having all of those resources Gopher State as a global epicenter of inno- approval inspection at its biologics plant in clustered within the BHCR,” says Richard vation and care. Brooklyn Park, MN, acquired from Baxalta Bendis, president and CEO of BioHealth “The unique characteristic of Medical in 2016. Minneapolis-based Bio-Techne Joins the Race to Develop a COVID-19 Vaccine Innovation. “People are recognizing that we Alley is the unparalleled presence of global said in October it will invest between $40 are one of the most important regions in the health leaders who continually collaborate million and $50 million to expand its GMP- in the world, based on this pandemic.” to drive the transformation of healthcare,” grade protein production capacity into St. While COVID-19 has generated signifi- declares Shaye Mandle, president and CEO Paul, where the company bought the former cant activity among the region’s companies of Medical Alley. Molex copper plant at 22 Empire Drive for and institutions, the BHCR has seen several One global health leader, the Mayo Clin- approximately $3 million. companies expand in specialties beyond ic in Rochester, signaled its intent to pursue the virus. London-based Autolus Thera- global leadership in digital health in De- MINNESOTA—Targeting COVID-19 peutics, a developer of chimeric antigen cember by appointing John Halamka, MD, Two Medical Alley anchors are in sep- receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for cancer, as president of the Mayo Clinic Platform, arate consortia studying potential last year inked a long-term lease with Alex- a strategic initiative aimed at improving COVID-19 treatments. Rochester-based andria Real Estate Equities for construction healthcare through insights and knowledge Mayo Clinic is in one consortium assess- and development of an approximately derived from clinical data. ing a therapy consisting of antibodies 85,000-square-foot build-to-suit office/man- St. Paul-headquartered 3M is active from the blood of recovered COVID-19 ufacturing facility at the Shady Grove Life in areas ranging from biopharmaceutical patients in a clinical trial. Sciences Center in Rockville, MD. purification to drug delivery systems, in In another consortium, participants And in March, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, addition to medical devices and healthcare include Takeda Pharmaceutical, which a Victoria, BC-based developer preparing information systems. Richfield-based Best has a manufacturing plant in Brooklyn for a 2021 launch of voclosporin, a drug Buy is counting on digital health services Park, MN. This consortium is also working for treating lupus nephritis, established a and analytics for future growth, while Unit- to develop a plasma-based treatment, an U.S. commercial center of operations in edHealthcare, the largest payer as defined unbranded anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal hy- Rockville, MD. Aurinia president and CEO by total covered lives, is headquartered in perimmune immunoglobulin therapy to Peter S. Greenleaf has more than two de- Minnetonka. treat serious complications from COVID-19. cades of experience leading pharmaceutical However, much more can be said about and biotech firms, from Cerecor (a pediatric Minnesota’s biopharma-oriented growth. orphan and rare disease drug developer) to Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (a company focused on gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and oncology-related disorders), which he led through its $1.2 billion acquisition by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. One of the things that companies con- sider before locating within a region is whether it has serial entrepreneurs that can build growing biohealth companies, Bendis emphasizes. In such regions, entrepreneurs don’t have to be imported.

MINNESOTA Medical Alley’s expansive vision

Also benefiting from the presence of top-tier companies and institutions is Min- The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, recently launched its Clinical Data Analytics Platform, nesota, where the Medical Alley Association the first venture under the data-driven Mayo Clinic Platform initiative.

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Bio-Techne plans to fund a new facility sciences workforce pipeline.) with more than 100 jobs. In Athens, Boeh- dedicated to supporting the large-scale According to “The Life Science Industry ringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA added production of GMP-grade materials, includ- in Georgia: Economic Trends and Impact,” a filling line and two freeze dryers, doubling ing Escherichia coli-derived recombinant a report released last year by Georgia Bio, the amount of pet vaccines that can be pro- proteins. In January, Bio-Techne joined staffing levels maintained by the state’s em- duced there. Fresenius Kabi and Wilson Wolf to launch a ployers in 2017 were as follows: the CDC, joint venture aimed at providing dedicated 9000; university life sciences departments, METRO DENVER support to researchers and biopharmaceuti- 8600; biopharma companies, 8400. Big deals and a gene therapy arrival cal companies in cell and gene therapy. “Behind the healthcare innovations happening in Atlanta is a robust research Pfizer’s $11.4 billion acquisition of Boul- community whose discoveries fuel those der-based Array BioPharma last year of- ATLANTA CDC presence, biopharma expansions innovations,” adds Thacker-Goethe, who is fered the most telling example of how much also CEO of the Center for Global Health biopharma and the life sciences have grown The COVID-19 global pandemic Innovation and executive director of the over the past decade in the nine-county brought global attention to the U.S. Centers Georgia Global Health Alliance. northern Colorado region anchored by for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Metro Atlanta’s life sciences industry Denver, Boulder, and Aurora. The region’s reinforcing the agency’s standing as the also includes a growing number of biophar- life sciences industry grew 7.5% between nation’s leading public health institute—as ma companies. Takeda operates a plasma 2011 and 2017, surpassing the national life well as its central role in Metro Atlanta’s life fractionation manufacturing site in subur- sciences growth rate of 5.4%, according to sciences community. ban Covington, which employs more than the Metro Denver Economic Development “The prestigious institution helped At- 1000 full-time and contract employees. The Corporation. lanta earn its title, ‘Public Health Capital Takeda plant received an honorable men- The Array acquisition accounted for of the World,’ which is bolstered by the tion in the International Society of Pharma- nearly all (94%) of the total $12.1 billion in presence of many other global health or- ceutical Engineers (ISPE) 2019 Facility of financing attracted by Colorado life sciences ganizations including the Task Force for the Year Awards. companies during 2019; the remainder con- Global Health, the Carter Center, the Coop- Also last year, Governor Brian P. Kemp sisted of $750 million in federal and state erative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere joined Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health (CARE), and the American Cancer Society,” USA to announce $120 million in compa- says Maria Thacker-Goethe, MPH, pres- ny investment in Georgia—a new North DENVER—Targeting COVID-19 ident & CEO of Georgia Bio, a statewide American headquarters in Duluth with 75 Aurora, CO-based Greffex is developing life sciences industry association. (She is also jobs; an expanded manufacturing site in a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that it has executive director of Georgia Bio’s Georgia Gainesville where the company plans to committed to distributing free to other BioEd Institute division, a 501(c)(3) non- base more than 50 jobs; and an expanded countries upon approval. The company profit created to strengthen Georgia’s life manufacturing and R&D facility in Athens, aims to get its vaccine approved and available to patients by year’s end. Boulder-based Biodesix has launched ATLANTA—Targeting COVID-19 the SARS-CoV-2 Droplet Digital PCR™ DRIVE (Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory), a not-for-profit biotech based in Atlanta, GA, (ddPCR™) test and is partnering with and wholly owned by Emory University, is partnering with Miami, FL-based Ridgeback Bio-Rad Laboratories to bring a Biotherapeutics on clinical studies of EIDD-2801, an antiviral compound. Mice infected COVID-19 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) with SARS-CoV or MERS-CoV showed improved pulmonary function and reduced virus test through FDA approval. Also, Engle- titer and body weight loss after treatment with the oral broad-spectrum prodrug, according wood-based Aytu BioScience says the to a study preprint. specificity of its IgG/IgM Rapid Test was The CDC Foundation—an independent nonprofit created to support the Centers for validated in a study published in Infection Disease Control and Prevention’s work—has partnered with Microsoft to seed-fund the Ecology & Epidemiology. The test showed launch of the Global Health Crisis Coordination Center (GHC3), a coalition of corporations an overall specificity of 100% and 99.2% and nonprofits formed to assist public officials with COVID-19 pandemic response. for IgM and IgG, respectively.

52 | JUNE 2020 | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | GENengnews.com SPECIAL REPORT grants, successful financing rounds, and ac- incentives from the Colorado Economic to diseases, has started to incorporate data quisitions transfers. Two Boulder life scienc- Development Commission that included about COVID-19. es companies completed major financings $6.4 million in performance-based tax The partnership with Microsoft, based in last year: Clovis Oncology, which raised credit incentives (contingent on job growth) suburban Redmond, also reflects a unique $175 million in nondilutive clinical trial over eight years, and $75,000 in perfor- strength of Seattle’s life sciences industry— financing from entities of TPG Sixth Street mance-based strategic fund cash incentives the home-grown presence of tech giants, Partners, and Inscripta, which completed a over five years. says Leslie M. Alexandre, DrPH, president $125 million Series D financing round, with AstraZeneca acquired the Boulder site and CEO of Life Sciences Washington. proceeds set to fund commercialization of in 2015 and the Longmont site in 2016 Alexandre noted that Seattle’s South Lake its Onyx™ Digital Genome Engineering from Amgen, which pulled out of the region Union is home to Amazon’s headquarters platform. For Inscripta, the financing round that year as part of a series of cost-cutting and a large campus for Google Cloud, while brought total amount raised by the compa- efforts. Google signed leases in January to expand ny to $259.5 million. in suburban Kirkland; Apple has grown its Last year, one of Metro Denver’s newest Seattle offices; Facebook has 18 offices in SEATTLE biotech arrivals, AveXis, acted to expand Tech-turbocharged research engines the region; and Salesforce expanded into Se- its gene therapy manufacturing capacity by attle’s North Lake Union when it completed purchasing AstraZeneca’s former advanced Seattle is another region that lost an its $15.7 billion acquisition of Tableau Soft- biologics therapy manufacturing campus in Amgen facility in 2014. But in a case of ware in August. Longmont. AveXis paid $30 million for the “what goes around comes around,” the “Our ‘Big R’ [research] ecosystem has been Longmont site in a sale recorded April 2, biotech giant is now partnering with a turbocharged in recent years by the explosion according to data from the Boulder County fast-growing Seattle-based personalized of tech in our region,” Alexandre declares. Assessor’s Office. diagnostics and therapeutics developer, That research ecosystem, she continues, Earlier this year, AstraZeneca confirmed Adaptive Biotechnologies, to use its immune is led by the University of Washington, the in its annual Form 20-F Annual Report for medicine platform to discover and develop region’s leading public university for R&D 2019 that it had agreed to sell a second site antibodies against COVID-19. Adaptive expenditures. The University of Washington in the region, a biologics bulk manufactur- Biotechnologies—which raised about is preparing to open its $230-million Pop- ing plant in Boulder, to Bothell, WA-based $321 million in net proceeds when it went ulation Health Initiative building later this contract development and manufacturing public last year—and Microsoft recently year. The Bill and Melinda Gates Founda- organization AGC Biologics. AGC has announced an expansion of a collaboration tion funded $210 million of the cost, with promised to create 280 new jobs paying an they launched nearly two years ago. This $15 million coming from Washington state. average annual wage of $96,253—a total collaboration, which involves mapping pop- The research ecosystem also includes the investment of $100 million—in return for ulation-wide adaptive immune responses Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,

SEAT TLE—Targeting COVID-19 Companies and institutions based in Seattle, WA, are busy working to overcome COVID-19, many of them in collaboration with each other or with partners based elsewhere, says Leslie M Alexandre, DrPH, president and CEO of Life Sciences Washington. For example, Adaptive Biotechnologies is part of an antibody collaboration with Amgen, and a human immune system mapping collaboration with Microsoft. Also, researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle in March became the nation’s first research group to evaluate mRNA-1273, the mRNA vaccine being developed by Moderna, in a Phase I trial (NCT04283461) in 45 healthy adults. Bothell-based contract manufacturing organization AGC Biologics is manufacturing a therapeutic candidate for COVID-19 discovered and developed by Vancouver, WA-based CytoDyn. And another Bothell-based company, FUJIFILM SonoSite, is in the anti-COVID-19 fight. The company has scaled up production of its handheld point-of-care ultrasound (PO- The University of Washington Population CUS) solutions for diagnosis of COVID-19-infected lungs. Health Initiative building is set to open in Seattle, WA, later this year.

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Medicine, NorthShore University HealthSys- CHICAGOLAND tem, and Rush University Medical Center. Expertise from bench to bedside Horizon Therapeutics plans to move its A life sciences cluster has also grown in U.S. employees in the second half of this recent years in and around Chicago, where year from its Lake Forest site to a larger three federal laboratories, several biophar- site, one that once served as the U.S. head- ma giants, and an emerging community of quarters of Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Hori- startups are buttressed by a strong base of zon acquired its new site, a three-building, academic research institutions—including 650,000-square-foot campus in Deerfield, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois. In CHICAGOLAND—Targeting Silverback Therapeutics, a startup in Seattle, February, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker COVID-19 WA, is using its ImmunoTAC drug conjugate and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined Researchers at Argonne National Labora- technology to develop systemically the University of Illinois and the developer delivered, locally active therapies. tory in Lemont, IL, and Northwestern Uni- Related Midwest to announce plans for a versity Feinberg School of Medicine have the Allen Institute, and Institute for Systems research center within “The 78,” a 62-acre mapped the structure of nsp10/nsp16, a Biology—plus global health institutions site. The research center will be run by the two-protein complex and potential target such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda- Discovery Partners Institute. of SARS-CoV-2 shown to modify the ge- tion and the Program for Appropriate Tech- “Chicagoland is home to a very large netic material of the virus to make it look nology in Health (PATH). and diverse life sciences community. Our more like host human cell RNA. “The research productivity of these or- region has expertise from bench to bedside, Abbott, headquartered in Chicago, IL, ganizations and many others has spawned starting with our world-class research insti- won national attention—including from hundreds of life sciences companies tutions,” says John Conrad, president and President Donald Trump—after gaining throughout the greater Puget Sound region CEO of the Illinois Biotechnology Innova- FDA Emergency Use Authorization of and attracted components of others,” Al- tion Organization (iBio). its ID NOW™ COVID-19 test, which is exandre notes. “The most recent crop of He notes that Chicagoland is also home designed to evaluate samples for nucleic startups includes standouts in cancer im- to several leading healthcare systems that acid from SARS-CoV-2, and to deliver munotherapies, [treatments for] infectious include Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s positive results in 5 minutes and negative diseases and neurodegenerative disorders, Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Medi- results in 13 minutes. and cell and gene therapies.” cine, the University of Chicago (UChicago) One Seattle startup, Silverback Therapeutics, announced in March that it had completed a $78.5 million investment round, with proceeds set to support development of SBT6050, a treatment candidate for HER2-expressing solid tu- mors. SBT6050 is set to start clinical trials this year. The company plans to advance its pipeline of immune-modulating Immu- noTAC™ drug conjugates, therapeutic candidates targeting previously inaccessible disease pathways. A cancer immunotherapy developer that began as a Seattle startup, Juno Therapeutics, was bought by Celgene for $9 billion in 2018. In November, Bristol-Myers Squibb completed its $74 billion purchase of Celgene, grow- Horizon Therapeutics plans to move its U.S. employees from Lake Forest, IL, to a larger ing its workforce to more than 1000 people. site, the former Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S. headquarters in suburban Deerfield, IL.iBio

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Exicure had signed a lease to occupy 30,000 square feet.) The second is Trammel Crow’s 16-story, 405,000-square-foot Fulton Labs in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood. (Here, Trammel Crow is partnering with life sciences entrepreneur John Flavin to launch Portal Innovations, a platform to seed-fund and accelerate life sciences, medical technology, and bioinformatics ventures.) “The recent life sciences real estate boom in Chicago is the strongest indicator of the growth of our ecosystem,” Conrad insists. The Illinois Science + Technology Park in Developer Sterling Bay has launched The suburban Skokie, IL, is being expanded by Labs, a life sciences facility, in Chicago’s American Landmark Properties. iBio Lincoln Yards neighborhood. iBio NEW YORK METRO Where progress never sleeps through a $115-million deal in February. mark Properties. Other examples include two Recent years have seen the development of Chicago sites. The first is Sterling Bay’s The Also enjoying a life sciences real estate new facilities across Chicagoland, Conrad re- Labs, the former Stanley Manne Children’s Re- boom is New York City, which has benefited lates. One such facility is 8030 Lamon Avenue, search Institute building at 2430 North Halst- from New York State’s $620 million Life an expansion in suburban Skokie of the Illinois ed Street in Chicago’s Lincoln Yards neigh- Science Initiative. The initiative includes Science + Technology Park by American Land- borhood. (The Labs recently announced that $100 million to expand the Excelsior Jobs

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In the biopharma industry, there currently is a need to increase production capacity to meet the analytical demands of process development and characterization, which investigate multiple parameters. The requirement for shorter turnaround times, smaller sample volumes, and increased sample numbers is no easy request to fill. Yet many investigators are turning their focus toward high throughput automation, which they believe is paramount to achieving these goals. In this GEN webinar, we will hear about some of the latest advances in high-throughput analytics, with particular attention on the High-Throughput Impurity Detection platform for automated impurity quantitation from Lonza. Additionally, we will Thursday, hear about some of the unique automation challenges that face biomanufacturers, as well JUNE 4, 2020 as some novel chemistry and vendor selection methodologies that have been designed to 8:00 am PT save researchers valuable time and money. 11:00 am ET 17:00 CET A live Q&A session will follow the presentations, offering you a chance to pose questions to DURATION: 60 minutes COST: Complimentary our expert panelist. SPECIAL REPORT

Program of refundable tax credits; $100 mil- startups are also being nurtured by accelera- stein’s Silverstein Properties and Taconic lion for a new life sciences R&D tax credit; tors such as Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s Investment Partners have converted 619 and $320 million in state grants to support JLABS and BioLabs@NYULangone, the lat- West 54th Street into the Hudson Research the development of wet-lab and innovation ter of which is a partnership of BioLabs New Center; and Deerfield Management in April space, support operations, and investment York and NYU Langone Health. closed its $840 million Deerfield Healthcare capital for early-stage life sciences com- “New York City sits directly at the heart Innovations Fund II, with plans to invest in panies. The initiative also includes at least of the Eastern U.S. life sciences corridor— science startups. Much of that activity will $100 million in private sector investment. which also includes Boston, Philadelphia, focus on startups to be based at Deerfield’s The initiative will invest $25 million over Maryland, and North Carolina—and is one 345 Park Avenue South, which is to be 5 1/2 years in IndieBio New York, created of the world’s most concentrated locations converted into life sciences space under a in January by SOSV, the world’s most active for life sciences, technology, and health- $635-million plan announced last year. investor in both life sciences and hardware. care,” says Nancy J. Kelley, a steering com- Across the East River in Long Island IndieBio plans to launch its inaugural co- mittee member of NYC Builds Bio+, which City, Queens, King Street Properties and hort in May. advances life sciences development in New GFP Real Estate broke ground in December Through its New York expansion, IndieBio York City by uniting the city’s real estate 2019 on Innolabs, which will convert a intends to double its 30 startups funded annu- and life sciences communities. 160,000-square-foot class B office building ally with $250,000 in exchange for a “small” The Big Apple is also the center, Kelley into a 266,800-square-foot Class A life-sci equity position—and will launch a therapeu- adds, of a regional life sciences and tech- facility; while Alexandria in 2018 bought tics track that will fund up to $2 million per nology cluster that includes suburban bio- the Bindery, a 175,000-square-foot building, accepted startup. SOSV says that it will build pharma companies and research institutions for a reported $75 million, then spent $25 a 24,000-square-foot lab and co-working within New York’s Hudson Valley and Long million in July for a site across the street. space for its New York-based startups, dou- Island—the largest company being Regen- New York City’s life sciences growth, bling the firm’s space in the city. New York eron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown—and Kelley states, is also being driven by tech- New Jersey’s global pharmaceutical giants. nology giants interested in expanding their NEW YORK According to the privately funded eco- presence in digital health and wearable —Targeting COVID-19 nomic development agency Choose New technologies. Google is constructing a 1 Pfizer, which is headquartered in Jersey, the Garden State is home to more million-square-foot campus in Manhattan’s Manhattan, has joined with Ger- than 400 biotech companies, and 13 of the Hudson Square section; Facebook plans to man-based BioNTech to develop top 20 biopharmaceutical companies. Last open a 1.5-million-square-foot campus; and BNT162, a potential first-in-class mRNA year, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Amazon is taking over the former Lord & vaccine designed to induce immunity enacted a doubling of the state tax credit for Taylor building on Fifth Avenue, a building and prevent COVID-19 infection, through angel investors in July. the company bought for $1.15 billion after an up-to-$748 million partnership. At the New York City’s largest private devel- abandoning its plans for a second headquar- end of April, the companies announced opment is taking shape along Manhat- ters in Long Island City. that they had started a clinical trial. tan’s East River, where Alexandria Real “New York City’s ‘Innovation Ecosystem’ Another New York City-based drug Estate Equities plans a third building—the for scientists and makers include biopharma- developer, Tonix Pharmaceuticals, has 550,000 rentable-square-foot North Tow- ceutical and ‘big tech’ companies; healthcare, teamed up with Southern Research In- er—at its Alexandria Life Science Cen- digital health, AI, and big data companies; stitute to develop TNX-1800, a live modi- ter-New York City campus in Manhattan. colleges and universities; independent re- fied horsepox virus vaccine, with prelim- Alexandria also plans to redevelop Pfizer’s search institutes, incubators, accelerators; inary animal data expected in Q3 2020. headquarters on East 42nd Street, with an and maker spaces as well as convening North of New York City, Tarrytown-based option to either convert existing office space places for innovators—from bio to tech to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is pursu- into office/laboratory space or build an ad- healthcare,” Kelley points out. “New York ing an antibody “cocktail” combination ditional 230,000 square feet of new space. City also has the enviable position of pairing therapy and partnering with Sanofi to Elsewhere in Manhattan, Janus Property world-class academic centers with leading assess Kevzara® (sarilumab) in a Phase II/ in January topped out the 350,000-square- institutions in the fields of design, finance, III trial (NCT04315298). foot Taystee Lab Building, once the site food, media, technology, and philanthropy of a bakery in West Harlem; Larry Silver- like no other geographic location.”

56 | JUNE 2020 | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | GENengnews.com