CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals, a spin-out company of a $65 million collaboration between MIT and Novartis, recently had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony at Cummings Properties' 25-R Olympia Ave.
Previously located at Cambridge Innovation Center, the 2013 MassChallenge alum moved in November to the suburban biotech neighborhood. There, it joins other MIT-born firms, including Levant Power and NeuroMetrix, that have accommodated growth by relocating to one of Cummings Properties' Woburn locations.
Co-founded by Dr. Salvatore Mascia and Dr. Bayan Takizawa, CONTINUUS designs, builds, and runs processes that allow for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
CONTINUUS' new 3,782 s/f facility includes office space, as well as a chemical laboratory.
"Woburn is an ideal location for us, because of its proximity to MIT and the Cambridge pharma/biotech cluster," said Mascia, CONTINUUS' CEO. "Cummings offers a unique solution for start-ups like ours. We have a fully equipped laboratory here, and there is the flexibility to expand into larger space as needed."
Woburn is a BioReady® community at the platinum level, the highest rating given by Mass Biotechnology Council. This designation recognizes the City's adoption of local policies that ease the pathway for renovation or new construction of biotech laboratory and manufacturing facilities.
Attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Massachusetts Life Sciences Center president and CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, MassBio president and CEO Bob Coughlin, representative Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington), Woburn mayor Scott Galvin, and assistant secretary for business growth at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Michael Kennealy.
"It was great to see so many important members of the Massachusetts biotech community come out to celebrate CONTINUUS' opening," said Cummings Properties account manager Robb LaBossiere, who worked closely with Mascia, Takizawa, and Jeremy Hood of T3 Advisors to identify and customize the lab space, their first outside a university setting.
The National Science Foundation awarded CONTINUUS a grant in January of this year. According to the grant abstract, the process developed by the startup has the potential to produce better quality drugs, greatly reduce the risk of drug shortages, and allow pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and distribute drugs in a more cost-effective and efficient manner.
CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals' integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM) technology allows it to design, build, and run manufacturing processes directly at client sites, providing clients with a "one-shop solution" for the entire development and manufacturing cycle.
Cummings Properties manages 10 million s/f of suburban Boston commercial real estate, including multiple properties in Woburn that are home to many life sciences firms, including Amgen, Calloway Labs, Covaris, Courtagen, Cryogenetics, EMD-Millipore, Genzyme, and more.