Astellas builds its R&D footprint in Cambridge/Boston with an add-on for labs, offices

Bioregnum Opinion Column by John Carroll

Astellas is snapping in another piece of the real estate puzzle for its global R&D reorganization.

Just as it wraps one project to piece together its parts in the Bay Area, the Japanese pharma player has found a new home for a slate of groups operating in the all-important Cambridge/Boston hub.

Astellas signed up for two floors of the 375,000-square-foot 441 Morgan Avenue development, a big project by DivcoWest, with plans to cut the ribbon on new lab and office space in the middle of next year. The 10-story building is part of Cambridge Crossing, the sprawling 43-acre development sited at the joining of Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston.

Astellas is also adding an incubator for the region as “a few hundred” staffers eventually take up residence at the Cambridge site. The company tells Endpoints that they plan to continue “organic” growth, with no special hiring plans.

Biopharma in general has gravitated to the scientific vortex created by decades of science work at MIT and Harvard, making Kendall Square ground zero to one of the biggest life-sci hubs in the world.

Japanese pharma companies like Takeda have jumped in as well, centering a considerable amount of their efforts in the metro area and continuing a long-term trend toward globalization of their research work as the home pharma market in Japan shrinks alongside a declining population.

In this case, Astellas is bringing in a medical & development unit with BD and research — with some space carved out for Mitobridge, which it acquired more than five years ago with a $165.5 million deal. Mitobridge was established to pursue the work high-profile scientist Ron Evans had done on mitochondria energy.

Cambridge/Boston became known during the Covid boom for some of the highest square footage rates in the industry, which has inspired a slate of building plans that have continued during the ongoing market squeeze. Another project that has garnered attention is One Canal by Breakthrough, which was hatched in East Cambridge by a joint venture of Tishman Speyer and Bellco, from Arie Belldegrun and his son Dan.

Their first project in the Boston area, The 105, was snapped up by CRISPR Therapeutics as its HQ.

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