Vertex Pharmaceuticals is expanding its presence in Boston with a new lab facility in the Seaport, the company announced Tuesday morning.
The 344,000 square foot site, which will support Vertex’s growth strategy and expansion of cell and gene therapies research, is expected to be completed in 2025. By then, Vertex stated it will occupy 1.9 million square feet of real estate across five sites in the Seaport. Vertex said the new building will also house roles for around 500 additional employees.
The biotech company announced the facility expansion plans at the dedication of the Jeffrey Leiden Center for Cell and Genetic Therapies, a new state-of-the-art research and clinical manufacturing site which accommodates more than 400 employees.
“This expansion is a sign of our deep commitment to Boston and the larger Massachusetts innovation ecosystem,” said Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Chairman at Vertex, in a statement. “These buildings represent so much more than having the best equipment in our labs or great amenities, as important as those things are. These buildings represent a further significant investment in our unique R&D strategy, to transform the lives of people with serious diseases, like sickle cell disease and type 1 diabetes, using cutting-edge genetic and cell-based therapies.”
Additionally, the company, along with the Vertex Foundation, announced a $50 million commitment to health equity centered around “clinical trial diversity, access to quality care, and education of the local health care workforce.”
Vertex’s expansion announcement came two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration halted an early-stage diabetes study after the cell therapy, VX-880, wasn’t showing enough efficacy.
