February 15, 2023 | By Greg Ryan and Mary C. Serreze, Boston Business Journal
A Boston-based real estate firm has ventured across the border into Rhode Island for its latest life sciences play.
The Davis Cos. has purchased a biomanufacturing facility in Smithfield, Rhode Island, from Rubius Therapeutics Inc., a Cambridge-based Flagship Pioneering spinout that shuttered late last year after laying off most of its employees.
The 122,000-square-foot facility, located at 100 Technology Way, was used by Rubius to manufacture clinical-phase cell and gene therapies. Rubius had acquired the building from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which made a blood disease drug there.
The transaction includes a vacant 15.5-acre parcel approved for another biomanufacturing facility of up to 175,000 square feet, according to a statement from Davis.
A recent deed lists an acquisition price of $18.5 million. Rubius bought the property in 2018 for $8 million, records show, and made “extensive improvements” to the site, according to Davis. That same year, the Rhode Island Commerce Corp., a state economic development agency, approved millions in tax incentives for the biotech, which was expected to create 154 Rhode Island jobs by 2022 and generate over $6 million for the Ocean State’s economy over 12 years. The company had around 100 employees last summer before it scrapped its platform and eventually shut down.
Davis has no other Rhode Island real estate in its portfolio. The firm has developed lab facilities closer to Boston, such as One Rogers St. in Cambridge and 66 Galen St. in Watertown. Davis has worked across the country, mostly on the East Coast.
The Smithfield property is well-suited to “a growing need in the life science industry for process development and small-batch testing ahead of clinical trials,” Davis Chief Portfolio Management Officer Cappy Daume said in a statement.
Rhode Island Biomanufacturing Buy Shows Demand For Boston Area
February 15, 2023 | By Patrick Sisson, Bisnow National
Davis Cos.’ $18.5M purchase of an upgraded biomanufacturing plant in Rhode Island, with acreage for expansion, underscores the continued drive to provide additional manufacturing capacity to support new therapeutics and cell and gene therapy firms, especially near the life sciences hub of Boston.
Davis acquired the 122K SF site at 100 Technology Way in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Located just off Interstate 295 roughly a one-hour drive to Boston, the facility was previously operated by Rubius Therapeutics, which used it for cell and gene therapy manufacturing, and before that, Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
“The existing building received substantial investment over the past five years and is equipped to manufacture cutting-edge products,” Davis Chief Investment Officer Quentin Reynolds said in a statement. “The high level of improvements in place and specialized outfitting provide significant market advantage to the property and a major speed to market benefit to future tenants.”
The site adds to the substantial amount of good manufacturing practice space being built throughout Massachusetts. MassBio noted in a report last fall that roughly 1.7M SF of such projects were in the pipeline.
The Smithfield deal also includes 15.5 vacant acres approved for an additional 175K SF biomanufacturing site. Davis did not respond to inquiries about the purchase price for the site by press time. Newmark will represent Davis in leasing the property.
Boston Firm Acquires Rubius Therapeutics Facility
February 15, 2023 | by Jacquelyn Voghel, Providence Business News
Following significant layoffs in the fall, Rubius Therapeutics Inc. has sold its biomanufacturing facility to Boston-based company The Davis Cos.
The purchase includes Rubius’ 122,000-square-foot facility, located at 100 Technology Way in Smithfield, Davis announced on Wednesday, as well as a 15.5-acre, currently vacant development parcel, which has approval to host another biotech manufacturing facility of up to 175,000 square feet.
In the announcement, Davis, a real estate investment, development and management firm, said it was attracted to the property for its location and infrastructure capabilities that support a range of manufacturing capabilities.
“There is a growing need in the life science industry for process development and small-batch testing ahead of clinical trials,” Cappy Daume, chief portfolio management officer at Davis, said in a statement. “This acquisition will help companies address that need in both the short and long term. We believe that the Smithfield facility is extremely well positioned to attract the talent pool needed to operate facilities of this type.”
Rubius did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In September, Rubius announced that it would lay off 75% of its overall workforce, including around 70 Rhode Island employees out of 160 companywide, as it considered selling the Smithfield facility. Rubius, based in Cambridge, Mass., employed 101 employees in Rhode Island at that time, and 269 at the beginning of 2022.
At that time, the company told PBN that it was “in active discussions with several companies via a competitive bidding process about the potential sale of the site.”
The announcement followed an August report from Rubius, which said the company had experienced a $44.2 million loss for the second quarter, and a $96.7 million net loss for the first half of 2022. Rubius also saw a $196.5 million loss in 2021, and a $167.7 million loss in 2020.
Patients participating in ongoing clinical trials would continue in those programs “until disease progression or discontinuation,” Rubius said. More than 80 patients have participated in these trials.
Prior to announcing the financial hardships, local leaders widely saw Rubius as a biotech success: the company established the Smithfield location after approval for up to $9 million in tax credits and incentives from the R.I. Commerce Corp. in 2018.
The state ultimately did not distribute these tax credits, an R.I. Commerce Corp. spokesperson told PBN, as Rubius did not meet required contingencies.