Set to open in April 2020, the buildings are now more than 50% let or under offer, highlighting the thriving life science industry in Cambridge

Today, BioMed Realty, the leading provider of real estate solutions to the life science community, announced its two newly developed Babraham Research Buildings in Cambridge are more than 50% let or under offer, including leases to PetMedix Ltd and Mission Therapeutics Ltd.

In October 2017, BioMed Realty and Babraham Research Campus launched a partnership, creating 100,000 square foot of research space for growing bioscience-based companies seeking to scale up their operations. BioMed@Babraham encompasses two adjacent buildings and the new facilities will provide a corporate campus feel to further promote innovation and strengthen links between academia and the commercial world. This project represents a £42 million investment in the Campus by BioMed Realty.

Colleen O’Connor, BioMed Realty’s Senior Director for the UK Market commented: “The Babraham Research Campus has been at the forefront of supporting scale-ups. BioMed@Babraham furthers this effort and offers growing life science companies access to first-class fitted lab and office space within the thriving Babraham Research Campus, which is already home to over 60 research organizations. We are excited to be moving forward on final fit-out construction for all suites, with tenants occupying as early as April 2020.”

As a sector at the cutting edge of science, the leaders of UK life sciences have continued working hard to raise capital for their R&D programmes. The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Informa Pharma Intelligence have released a report showing £182 million was raised by private biotech companies between December 2018 and the end of February 2019, almost £50 million more than during the same period a year earlier.

Dr. Tom Weaver, CEO of PetMedix™ commented: “One of the real strengths of Cambridge for the biotech industry is its ability to both attract large companies and foster the growth of new ones. The ecosystem of academic research, thriving companies, and a highly skilled talent pool make it a perfect place to start and build a company. This success can make it challenging for companies like ours to secure the necessary space to grow in the current competitive commercial environment. PetMedix is entering a growth and expansion phase as we look to bring the power of antibody therapeutics to animal health, and this comes with a need to scale our physical footprint. We are tremendously excited to be one of the first two companies to move into BioMed Reality’s brand new, purpose-built premises on the renowned Babraham campus. BioMed has recognised the clear need for developments of this size and composition, and we are looking forward to establishing PetMedix at this new site and engaging with the vibrant research and development ecosystem of like-minded companies, both at Babraham and in the surrounding Cambridge cluster.”

Michael Jones, Director and Head of Commercial Division for Cheffins Commercial commented: “Life Sciences in the UK continues to thrive, particularly the Cambridge cluster. Babraham offers a rare opportunity to lease new construction with purpose-built life science lab and office space in high-quality buildings. It’s not surprising there is tremendous interest.”

The sector currently contributes over £70 billion to the UK economy and provides jobs for almost 241,000 people across the country. According to data from business intelligence specialist, Vacancysoft, demand for professionals to work within the UK’s Life Sciences sector increased by 11% in 2018 – clinical vacancies rose the highest, with an increase of 37%, and demand for research and development professionals rose by 4.6%.

Dr Anker Lundemose, CEO of Mission Therapeutics added: “Fuelled by its established academic community and growing private sector, Cambridge has a strong science culture, which celebrates entrepreneurship and collaboration. As Mission has prospered and grown over the past seven years, we were forced to split the Company over two sites. The development of these new buildings by BioMed Realty at the Babraham Research Campus present us with the exciting opportunity to bring all our employees together again on one site, to facilitate open collaboration, improve efficiency and promote innovation in the field of mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and neurodegenerative disorders.”

BioMed Realty entered the Cambridge, UK market with the acquisition of Granta Park in 2012. As part of its continued growth in Cambridge, BioMed Realty formed a collaborative partnership with Babraham Bioscience Technologies in 2017 to build two new buildings on the Babraham Research Campus. Upon completion, the Babraham Research Campus project will bring BioMed Realty’s total presence in Cambridge to almost 900,000 square feet. The addition of BioMed Realty to the Babraham Research Campus supports the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s campus development strategy.

For more information on lettings and the remaining space, please contact Michael Jones, from Cheffins (01223 271971) who are letting agents on behalf of BioMed.

– ENDS –

About BioMed Realty
Founded in 2004, and a Blackstone portfolio company since 2016, BioMed Realty owns and operates high-quality life science real estate comprising 11 million square feet located in the leading innovation markets throughout the United States and United Kingdom, led by Boston-Cambridge, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, New York and Cambridge U.K. In addition, BioMed Realty maintains a premier development pipeline with two million square feet of Class A properties in active construction to meet the growing demand of the life science industry. With over 200 tenant partners, BioMed Realty provides real estate solutions for global enterprises, established biotechnology and innovation companies, leading universities and premier research institutions. Follow us on Twitter @biomedrealty.

About PetMedix™
PetMedix™ is a Cambridge, UK based research and development stage biopharmaceutical company developing antibody-based therapeutics for companion animals. The growing team have over 30 years’ experience building platforms that can develop species-specific therapeutic antibodies. Driven by the core value of improving the health and welfare of animals, PetMedix™ is taking the cutting edge of human medicine and using it to develop innovative new veterinary treatments against a wide range of clinical indications for dogs and for cats.
Website: https://www.petmedix.co.uk
Twitter: @PetMedix, LinkedIn: PetMedix, Facebook: @PetMedix, Instagram: @PetMedix

About Mission Therapeutics
Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis. Mission has a collaboration in the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. It also has strong links with academic and research centres, such as Prof. Steve Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases.

For more information, please visit our website, www.missiontherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – 1 May 2019 – Mission Therapeutics (“Mission”), a drug discovery and development company focused on treating mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and neurodegenerative disorders by selectively inhibiting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs), today announced the appointment of Dr. James Summers as an independent member to its Board of Directors, with immediate effect.

Dr. Summers brings over 30 years of drug discovery and pharmaceutical research management experience to Mission’s Board. His most recent position was as Vice President of Neuroscience Research at AbbVie, where he led drug discovery efforts in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, pain, and psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Colin Goddard, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at Mission, said:

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Summers to our Board of Directors. Jim has spearheaded numerous transactions for AbbVie in the area of neurological disorders, including Mission’s collaboration with AbbVie for the development of DUB inhibitors to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. We believe his appointment as a Director will bring immense domain knowledge to our deliberations as a board and I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Dr. Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer at Mission, added:

“Since the start of the AbbVie collaboration in November 2018, the Mission team has already benefited from the strength of Jim’s specialist knowledge and sector experience. We believe that he will be of tremendous value to the Company as we continue to progress our therapeutic pipeline”.

Dr. James Summers, newly appointed Non-Executive Director at Mission, also commented:

“In addition to its best-in-class DUB technology platform, Mission has researchers with a unique understanding of the science behind Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to support the Company as it works towards developing new treatments that positively impact the lives of patients with these debilitating diseases.”

Prior to his role at AbbVie, Dr. Summers was Divisional Vice President of Advanced Technology with Abbott, where he managed the organisation responsible for the diverse technologies and services that enable effective drug discovery research across the company. He has established new research sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Shanghai, China and led the way in refocusing the research strategies of this global organisation. He has also championed multiple successful deals, collaborations and investments and advanced more than 20 compounds into clinical development.

Dr. Summers earned his Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in chemistry from Denison University and his doctorate in organic chemistry from Harvard University.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

 In November 2018, Mission Therapeutics and AbbVie entered into a collaboration in the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

In February 2016, the Company completed an $86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations (now part of IP Group) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.

For more information, please visit our website, www.missiontherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – 3 December 2018 –Mission Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company focused on treating mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and neurodegenerative disorders by selectively inhibiting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs), has appointed Dr Nick Edmunds as Vice President, Head of DUB Discovery, with immediate effect.

Dr Edmunds has over 15 years’ pharmaceutical industry experience and a track record of delivery across small molecule preclinical drug discovery and early clinical development. He joined Mission as a Senior Director in September from AstraZeneca, where he had previously held a number of senior roles in Drug Safety and Metabolism, including Senior Director, Head of New Modalities and Director of Safety Pharmacology.

Prior to that, he was a Research Fellow at Pfizer Global Research and Development, Groton, USA and the Cardiovascular Discipline Leader in Global Safety Pharmacology at Pfizer Global Research and Development, Sandwich, UK.  Dr Edmunds carried out his postdoctoral research studies in the Department of Physiology, University of Birmingham, UK. He also holds a PhD from the Pharmacy and Pharmacology Department, University of Bath, UK and a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds, UK.

Dr Anker Lundemose, Mission’s CEO, said:

“I am very pleased to welcome Nick to Mission Therapeutics’ Management team, especially at this exciting time following the announcement of a major collaboration with AbbVie. Nick has the right skills, experience, enthusiasm and mindset to provide superb leadership to our research team and to advance our discovery DUB programmes.”

His internal appointment follows Dr Anne Phelan’s decision to step down as Executive Vice President of Research.

Dr Anker Lundemose, added:

“I would like to thank Anne for providing excellent leadership to our research team. We will miss her and wish her all the very best with her future endeavours.”

Dr Nick Edmunds, newly appointed, Vice President, Head of DUB Discovery at Mission Therapeutics, said:

“Mission has been leading the way with its research in the DUBs field and so I am really looking forward to being part of the management team. The potential of the in-house programmes as well as the recent collaboration with AbbVie make this an exciting time to help take the Company forward.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases, and fibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small-molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

In November 2018 Mission Therapeutics and AbbVie entered into a collaboration in the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

In February 2016, the Company completed an $86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations (now part of IP Group) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – 4 September 2018 – Mission Therapeutics (“Mission”), a drug discovery and development company focused on selectively targeting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) to treat mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis, neurodegenerative and other diseases, today announced the appointment of Dr Judit Molnar, MD, PhD to Senior Director of Translational Medicine with immediate effect.

Judit has over ten years of experience in translational science and early drug development of which nine years were spent working in the pharmaceutical industry. She has led small molecule drug development programmes across a variety of therapeutic areas including inflammation and fibrotic disorders, which have resulted in lead candidates being progressed from the preclinical stage into the clinic up to Phase II.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Paul Thompson, Vice President, Clinical Development at Mission said:

“We are pleased to welcome Judit to Mission’s clinical leadership team. Judit’s in-depth clinical knowledge and proven drug development track record will further strengthen our team as we work to translate scientific advances in the DUB field into transformative therapeutics for mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis.

“She joins Mission at an opportune moment as we have just selected a lead candidate inhibitor for our USP30 programme in mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis. Her expertise and insights will prove invaluable as we progress this programme towards clinical studies during 2019.”

Dr Judit Molnar, newly appointed Senior Director, Translational Medicine, Mission Therapeutics, said:

“Mission’s unique science, chemistry and DUB platform, applicable across numerous therapeutic areas with high unmet need, is highly impressive. I am looking forward to working alongside the experienced and dedicated leadership team to advance its ambitious USP30 and other programmes through preclinical and into clinical development.”

Judit joins Mission from GlaxoSmithKline where she was Preclinical Biology Lead in Epigenetics in immuno-inflammation before being promoted to Director of Translational Medicine in 2016. Prior to this she worked from 2008 at Pfizer as a Drug Discovery Scientist and Daphne Jackson Research Fellow. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA. Judit obtained a PhD in Physiology from Cornell University, New York, USA and completed her medical degree at the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mission Therapeutics Ltd

Anker Lundemose MD PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 607340

Instinctif Partners

Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Eileen Paul / Priya Kalia

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020

missiontherapeutics@instinctif.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and inflammation. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small-molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

In February 2016, the Company completed an $86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations (now part of IP Group) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – 1 March 2018 – Today Mission Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company focused on treating fibrosis, neurodegenerative and other diseases by selectively targeting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs), announced the promotion of Dr Paul Thompson to Vice President, Clinical Development with immediate effect.

Dr Thompson has over 15 years’ experience in translational research and early clinical development. He joined Mission as Medical Director for CNS in 2016 from ONO Pharma UK, where he was Clinical Science Director. Prior to this he worked at GlaxoSmithKline, where he led global project teams as Director of Discovery Medicine in Neurology, following previous roles in laboratory biomarker research and experimental medicine study leadership. Dr Thompson holds an MBiochem from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Immuno- and Cell Biology from UCL.

He is also a member of the British Pharmacological Society, Society for Neuroscience and American Academy of Neurology, and is currently the Principal Investigator on a Target Validation award from the Michael J Fox Foundation.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Anker Lundemose, Mission’s CEO, said:

“Paul’s promotion reinforces our drug discovery and development expertise as we continue our mission to translate scientific advances in the DUB field into transformative therapies. He has already made a substantial contribution to the development of our internal pipeline. He will continue to play a pivotal role in driving the pre-clinical validation and prioritisation of our first-in-class compounds as we progress them towards clinical testing.”

Dr Paul Thompson, newly appointed VP, Clinical Development, Mission Therapeutics, said:

“This is an exciting opportunity to further influence and shape the Company’s therapeutic programs at the senior management level. I look forward to working with the team to continue improving our understanding of DUBs as therapeutic targets and their multiple potential applications to serious diseases with high unmet need, including fibrosis, rare mitochondrial disease and neurodegeneration.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 Mission Therapeutics Ltd

Anker Lundemose MD PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 497199

 Instinctif Partners

Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Eileen Paul / Priya Kalia

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020

missiontherapeutics@instinctif.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and inflammation. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small-molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

In February 2016, the Company completed an $86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations (now part of IP Group) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.