Dive Brief:
- Vertex has opened a new 170,000 square foot research facility in Torrey Pines, San Diego, on schedule after 18 months of construction.
- About 70% of the new facility is dedicated to laboratory and research, including a 4,000 square foot incubator suite for external collaborations.
- Vertex researchers discovered the company's three cystic fibrosis (CF) therapeutics — Symdeko, Orkambi and Kalydeco — at the original San Diego site, one of three global research hubs for the biotech. The new facility will replace Vertex's existing space.
Dive Insight:
Opening of the site complements Vertex's decision last year to consolidate its research activities into three hubs in Boston and San Diego in the U.S. and Milton Park in the U.K. As a result, Vertex closed its site in Laval, Canada, impacting about 70 jobs.
Vertex announced the construction of the new R&D facility in December 2015, entering into a 16-year lease for the space with the option to extend for two additional five-year terms. Aggregate rent, exclusive of operating expenses, will be $10.2 million per year.
The biotech recognized roughly $110 million in expenses over 2016 and 2017 related to construction costs tied to the San Diego building, according to a regulatory filing.
A Vertex spokesperson confirmed in an email to BioPharma Dive that the primary research activities at the site will be in CF, but will also include other therapeutic areas, including pain.
Vertex has carved out a dominant position in the market for CF treatments, and secured approval of Symdeko (tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor) in February to complement its two older drugs. The biotech is also advancing two triple combinations that Vertex believes could enable it to reach as much as 90% of CF patients.