Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister recently joined company employees and local officials at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Lexington to highlight the company's expansion in Massachusetts. The Governor participated in the company's "Raising the Roof" ceremony, marking the beginning of a construction project that will add an additional 104,000 square feet of lab and associated administrative space to Cubist's existing lab facility by early 2012.
The Life Sciences Center, charged with implementing the State's ten-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative proposed by Governor Patrick in 2007 and signed into law in June of 2008, awarded a tax incentive of $1.7 million to Cubist last year to facilitate their expansion plans in Lexington. As part of the tax incentive agreement Cubist has committed to creating 58 new jobs this year.
"The Massachusetts economy is an innovation economy, and Cubist is one of the best examples of how that innovation translates into jobs and scientific advancement," said Governor Patrick. "This is just the sort of growth that we envisioned when we proposed the Life Sciences Initiative back in 2007 and I am confident there will be many more announcements like this to come."
"We are excited to support Cubist's ongoing expansion through the Life Sciences Center's Tax Incentive Program," said Windham-Bannister. "Cubist is a great example of a growing life sciences company - they are expending their facilities, adding dozens of jobs, and keeping their pipeline of innovative new drugs and therapies strong."
"As a growing biopharmaceutical company, focused on developing and commercializing therapies administered in the acute care setting, we are driven by a desire to discover new medicines that will save lives," said Cubist President and CEO Mike Bonney. "We believe that the 21st century will be marked by enormous advances in all facets of the life sciences industry that will result in groundbreaking and lifesaving achievements in medical science, and will lead to brand new medical discoveries and therapies — that is our hope for additional lab space we are building here."
This expansion will position Cubist for continued success and further enhance its groundbreaking work in developing treatments for unmet medical needs in the acute care setting. The vertical expansion of the North Building will create two additional floors above the current floor for Research and Development, Technical Operations and related support functions. Once completed, the new space will accommodate both current and anticipated future needs of both groups. Specifically, new labs will be created for Medicinal Chemistry, Crystallography, High-Throughput Purification, Down-Stream Processing & Formulation, Toxicology and Discovery Biology. Other areas will include a new molecular modeling room, a suite of conference rooms and executive offices, administrative and break areas, and space for the future expansion of Discovery Biology and Non-Clinical Development. Also part of the expansion project will be the creation of a multi-story, glass atrium that will link the new upper floors of the North Building to the existing upper floors of the South Building. The atrium will contain a new main entrance, café, passenger & service elevators, walkways and informal meeting spaces.
“This expansion is good for the district and for the Commonwealth,” said Senator Kenneth Donnelly. “It’s yet another example of the Commonwealth’s commitment to making Massachusetts the leader in this field.”
"The whole Commonwealth benefits from this kind of partnership," said Senator Susan Fargo. "The commitment by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and Cubist Pharmaceuticals is a wonderful step forward for economic development and for our health and well-being."
“I am thrilled to see yet another ambitious expansion effort by a life sciences company committed to growing their business in the Commonwealth, an effort that will bring much-needed jobs and economic stability to our region,” said Representative Jay Kaufman. “With Cubist’s announcement coming on the heels of other recent expansion initiatives, Lexington is fast becoming a major player in the life sciences.”
“Cubist’s expansion is great news for our local economy in Lexington, and for the entire region,” said Representative Thomas Stanley. “It is terrific to see the state’s Life Sciences Initiative bringing new jobs and economic opportunity to our communities.”
“The future growth of our economy is in the life sciences sector,” said Representative Peter Koutoujian. “By providing the financial tools necessary for companies like Cubist to expand, we are keeping quality firms in Massachusetts and providing much needed business growth and good paying jobs.”
In addition to the expansion underway at 65 Hayden Avenue, a building owned by Cubist, the company occupies approximately 180,000 square feet at both 55 Hayden Avenue and 45 Hayden Avenue where interior renovations are underway. When the expansion work is completed, Cubist will occupy a total of 373,000 square feet at its Lexington campus---up from 269,000 square feet today. The expanded facility is projected to be home to an additional 150 new scientists and support staff.
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center ("the Center") is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a ten-year, $1 billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The Center's mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties between sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
About Cubist
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products that address unmet medical needs in the acute care environment. In the U.S., Cubist markets CUBICIN® (daptomycin for injection), the first antibiotic in a class of anti-infectives called lipopeptides. The Cubist clinical product pipeline currently consists of a Phase 2 program, added with Cubist's acquisition of Calixa Therapeutics Inc. in December 2009, focused on the development of a novel cephalosporin to address certain serious infections caused by multi-drug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative organisms; a Phase 2 program for the treatment of CDAD (Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea); and a Phase 1 program intended to address the unmet medical need for a treatment for serious infections caused by MDR Gram-negative pathogens. Cubist is also working on several pre-clinical programs being developed to address areas of significant medical needs. These include an anti-infective program for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children, therapies to treat various serious bacterial infections, and agents to treat acute pain. Cubist is headquartered in Lexington, Mass. Additional information can be found at Cubist's web site at www.cubist.com.