By Jack Stubbs
The Life Sciences industry has been a growing sector in the Puget Sound region—especially in South Lake Union—over the last couple of years, and another research and development facility in Lynnwood recently changed hands between two healthcare companies.
On Wednesday, January 31st, a roughly 89,000 square foot research and development building in Lynnwood sold for $45.6 million, according to public documents filed with Snohomish County. The buyer of the property was Boston-based Partner Therapeutics, Inc. (PTx), an integrated biopharmaceutical company that develops and sells therapies that improve cancer treatment. The seller of the property was Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, a healthcare company that develops and markets medical solutions throughout the U.S.
Sanofi is making a significant profit on the property, which the company originally acquired the from Berlex Laboratories LLC in June 2012 for $15.75 million, according to Snohomish County records.
Neither the buyer nor the seller responded to calls for comment in time for the publishing of this story.
However, the company’s recent acquisition of the Lynnwood facility is part of a larger strategic expansion. On February 1st, PTx announced that it had acquired the global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize Leukine, an immuno-stimulant used to treat and prevent severe infections, according to a press release on the company’s web site.
And PTx has big plans for the facility. In connection with the acquisition of Leukine, PTx also acquired the dedicated manufacturing facility in Lynnwood, which is a state of the art biologics manufacturing plant that was certified for commercial production in 2012. The Lynnwood facility will serve as the core manufacturing and supply chain center for the company’s operations.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to build a new future for Leukine and welcome the talented and dedicated team in Lynnwood to the PTx family”, said Robert Mulroy, CEO of PTx, in the statement. “The acquisition of Leukine provides us with an established commercial business, a product that has demonstrated a clear and substantial impact on outcomes, and a program with the potential to become a core component of immuno-oncology, the treatment of acute radiation syndrome and the treatment of infections.”
The 16-acre property, located at 2625 162nd St. SW, contains a facility built in 2006 that comprises 89,178 square feet, according to the property listing on RealtyTrac.com. According to Google Maps, the site address shares the same as that of Genzyme Corporation, a biotechnology company.
The property is roughly three miles north of Lynnwood, and approximately three miles to the south of Paine Field-Lake Stickney and Paine Field Airport. Additionally, the property is about two miles from access to Washington State Route 99 and four miles from Interstate 5.
PTx focuses on developing and commercializing cancer medicines and therapies that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of cancer patients, according to the company’s web site. In its approach to cancer treatment, the company employs collaborative research—undertaken by academics, clinicians and researchers—to guide its development of cancer treatments. The company was founded in 2017, according to bloomberg.com.
Founded in 1950, Sanofi U.S. is comprised of five business units that focus on a variety of long-term treatments to diseases, according to the company’s web site. Sanofi currently operates in over 100 countries and employs more than 14,000 professionals throughout the U.S. The company dedicates its resources to research for new and better treatments and partners with scientists and doctors to translate medical discoveries into healthcare solutions.
New Jersey has the fourth largest life sciences cluster in the country after the San Francisco-San Jose Bay Area, Los Angeles-Orange County, and Boston-Cambridge, according to a 2018 Life Sciences report by CBRE. Over the last few years, Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region has become increasingly recognized as a hub for the life sciences. And according to the report, Seattle had the 13th largest figure of employment in the life sciences sector as of third quarter 2017, with the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Boston leading the way.
