Biogen has unveiled plans to open a new global headquarters and innovation hub in Massachusetts, US.
The company has signed a 15-year lease for an office and research and development (R&D) space at Cambridge’s Kendall Common, a new development project spearheaded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Spanning approximately 580,000-square-feet, the facility will integrate Biogen’s R&D and technical operations teams together with its global and North American commercial organisations.
It is expecting to relocate its Cambridge-based employees to the new site when it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2028.
Biogen said it will be the sole corporate tenant in the building, which will also house its Biogen CoLab, a community laboratory and collaborative space where Biogen scientists, nonprofits and schools and universities join together to help individuals prepare for careers in life sciences and healthcare.
The company said the move is part of a multi-year plan to modernise its facilities and consolidate its Massachusetts real estate footprint, dating back to the early 1980s when it established its research facility and headquarters in Kendall Square.
Biogen’s chief executive officer, Christopher Viehbacher, said: “Nearly 50 years after first putting down roots in Kendall Square, Biogen is embarking on a new chapter in the very heart of the community that has shaped our success.
“Our new space will support the advancement of our pipeline of breakthrough medicines by bringing our employees together and fostering collaboration with leading scientific minds, key partners and top talent.”
The lease agreement is with a new joint venture partnership between MIT Investment Management Company and BioMed Realty, a Blackstone Real Estate portfolio company, that is developing the new building.
“It’s fitting that Biogen – a company with such close ties to people at MIT – will make Kendall Common’s first building its new home,” said Sally Kornbluth, president of MIT. “The motto of Kendall Square might as well be ‘talent in proximity’ and Biogen’s decision to intensify its presence here promises great things for the whole ecosystem.”