Cambridge UK biotechs enjoy a Mass presence in Greater Boston

There IS a special relationship between the UK and US in at least one significant area of trade – the life sciences. This may not be quite as powerful as a genuine trade alliance between the White House & Westminster, but when biotech chiefs in the territories don’t let the Atlantic get in the way of business, then the Charles River is a mere hop, step and a jump!

The Charles River, Boston Massachusetts. Credit – Michael Sean OLeary / Shutterstock.com

Cambridge UK companies continue to find facilities, boots on the ground and an environment geared to growth when they put down roots in Greater Boston and wider Massachusetts – most notably in the field of BioMedTech.

No-one appears to challenge the claim by Massachusetts to be home to the top life sciences cluster in the world. Companies based there enjoy a range of advantages including a thriving life sciences community, highly educated workforce, world-leading universities and hospitals, access to an array of economic development programs that support large and small biotechnology companies, tax benefits for workforce training, infrastructure, equipment, and construction financing.

From biotech-zoned science parks to robust infrastructure and pre-permitted biotech sites, Massachusetts reckons it has it all for companies looking for space. And the number of Cambridge UK biotechs based there would appear to agree. Here we take a look at some of the companies with operations in the State:

Abcam Inc.
(152 Grove Street, Waltham, MA 02453)
As an innovator in reagents and tools, Abcam’s vision is to serve life science researchers globally to achieve their mission faster. Providing the research and clinical communities with tools and scientific support, the company offers highly validated antibodies, assays and other research tools to address important targets in critical biological pathways. Every year around 750,000 life science researchers depend on Abcam’s products and technical support. Abcam is currently transitioning into the Danaher Life Sciences portfolio following its $5.7 billion acquisition at the end of 2023.

Alchemab Therapeutics
(204 Second Ave, Waltham MA 02451)
Antibody discovery company Alchemab raised $82 million in a Series A financing in April 2021 led by RA Capital and joined by Lightstone Ventures, DHVC, and DCVC Bio. In June 2024, the company was awarded a grant of $595k by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to support its Parkinson’s disease program. The grant will fund research performed at Alchemab following its identification of antibodies that target prostaglandin biology in Parkinson’s – a potentially unique approach to treatment. Alchemab is researching the therapeutic effects of its resilient patient-derived antibody in PD.

Apollo Therapeutics
(33 Arch Street Boston, MA)
Apollo is a portfolio biopharma company that translates breakthroughs in biology and basic medical research into innovative new medicines. With over 20 active therapeutic programs, five of which are in development, it is building a large, diversified portfolio of novel therapeutics with uncorrelated risk. Last December, Apollo completed a second close of its Series C financing, raising an additional $33.5 million and bringing the total raised in this round during 2023 to $260m. The Series C financing was led by Patient Square Capital and included participation by multiple new investors including M&G plc and two of the largest US public pension plans, along with existing investors including Rock Springs Capital. In 2021, Apollo established US operations with teams in Boston and Chicago.

AstraZeneca
(Wilmington, Waltham MA / Boston, Mass)
Cambridge UK Big Biotech AstraZeneca paid around $39 billion for Boston US pharmaceutical business Alexion in 2020 to boost its share of a burgeoning immunology market. AstraZeneca is establishing Boston, Massachusetts as its headquarters for rare diseases, capitalising on talent in the Greater Boston area.

Bicycle Therapeutics
(35 Cambridgepark Drive, Cambridge, MA)
In May Bicycle unveiled a $555m investment haul on Nasdaq. The money from new and existing backers was reeled in through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing. It strengthened Bicycle’s balance sheet via a pro forma cash position of around $1 billion and should extend the financial runway into the second half of 2027. The financing was led by a US-based healthcare-focused investor with participation from Deep Track Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Fairmount, Forbion, Perceptive Advisors and RA Capital Management.

Cambridge Cognition
(Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway, Cambridge, MA)
AIM-quoted Cambridge Cognition has just raised £2.6m (£2.1m net) from an oversubscribed placing, open offer and subscription. The funding is to be used for commercial investment and growth capital. Cambridge Cognition specialises in CNS clinical trial solutions, a growing area of investment for the pharma industry.

Cerevance
(One Marina Park Drive. Suite 1410. Boston MA)
Boston US life science company Cerevance, which has facilities at Cambridge Science Park, took its Series B-1 round to $98m after securing a $47m extension in April. Proceeds will support an upcoming Phase 3 clinical trial for CVN424, a first-in-class non-dopamine therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease, plus the advancement of a pipeline of novel treatments for other CNS disorders. These include Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. The latest financing was led by Agent Capital, Bioluminescence Ventures, and Double Point Ventures, with participation from new investors MQB Partners and LifeRock Ventures and existing backers Gates Frontier, GV (Google Ventures) and Lightstone Ventures. Using its proprietary NETSseq platform, Cerevance’s team of world-leading scientists and drug developers identify groundbreaking treatment targets with precision.

Cresset Biomolecular Discovery Limited
(One Broadway, Cambridge, MA)
Cambridge UK headquartered Cresset, which provides integrated in silico solutions for drug discovery, expanded its North American presence this year by taking a new US facility in Greater Boston. Cresset has had a US distribution network in place for some time but this is the company’s first physical facility across The Pond. More than 50 per cent of Cresset revenues now come from outside the UK as part of amazing growth in recent years. The establishment of a US presence – especially in Boston – is a major milestone in the next phase of the company’s international growth. Its new site is in the Cambridge Innovation Center building which is already home to more than 300 life science and biotech organisations ranging from startups to accelerators, innovation arms of global pharma companies and VC firms.

Cycle Pharmaceuticals
(WeWork Floor 4, 200 Portland St, Boston, MA)
In June 2024, Cycle Pharmaceuticals, a rapidly growing company focused on treatments for the underserved rare disease patient community, confirmed that it made a proposal to the Board of Nasdaq-listed Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to acquire 100 per cent of Vanda’s issued and outstanding shares for a cash consideration of $8.00 per Vanda share, representing $466m cash. Cycle was founded in 2012 with to deliver drug treatments and product support to the underserved rare disease patient community plus the healthcare professionals and communities that support them. Cycle focuses on rare metabolic, immunological, and neurological genetic conditions. Within neurological conditions, Cycle focuses on multiple sclerosis. In May, Cycle launched its 6th drug product in the US market.

Domainex
(One Broadway, 245 Main Street, Cambridge, MA)
Employing over 100 scientists, Domainex is a leading, multi-award-winning, integrated medicines research service partner working with ambitious life science organisations from around the globe. Domainex is named on more than 60 patent applications of numerous candidate drugs. The company launched in Boston in 2018.

Dunad Therapeutics
(Cambridge, MA)
Dunad’s unique small molecule platform induces targeted degradation of disease-causing and often undruggable protein targets via direct modulation of protein stability and conformation.
Dunad was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Cambridge UK with operations in both the UK and North America. The company is backed by founding investor Epidarex Capital as well as BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) and Novartis.

Eleven TX
(Cambridge, MA)
Eleven TX is a cross-disciplinary group of entrepreneur-scientists that came together in 2020 to usher in the next generation of RNA technologies. Setting up three collaborative hubs – in Cambridge UK; Boston U.S.; and Tel Aviv – it has tapped into some of the world’s top talent pools. In addition, Eleven Tx is partnering with leading institutions including the Vaccine Research Center at the NIAID, Cambridge University, Twist Biosciences, and Biotage.

Lightcast Discovery
(700 Main Street, North Cambridge, Boston, MA 02139)
Lightcast is a life science tools company founded in 2019 to accelerate new therapeutics development. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, Lightcast opened a new Innovation Centre and laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., in 2024 to meet the high demand from its North American collaborators. In Q3 2023, Lighcast raised a $49m Series B round led by M Ventures, the VC arm of Merck.

NodThera
(Boston, MA)
NodThera is a leading clinical-stage biotech developing brain-penetrant NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. Headquartered in Boston, MA, with additional operations at Chesterford Research Park, Cambridge, UK and also Seattle, WA, Nodthera recently announced positive data from its Phase Ib/IIa cardiovascular risk study in inflamed obese subjects, evaluating the effects of its oral, brain-penetrant NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor NT-0796, on inflammatory, cardiovascular and metabolic risk parameters.

Nuclera
(1000 Technology Park Drive, Suite B Billerica, MA 01821)
Nuclera, a Cambridge, UK company developing cutting-edge benchtop protein printing technologies launched a US subsidiary in Boston in 2022. The addition of the facility in the rapidly growing biotech hub of greater Boston is a critical step in the company’s plans, paving the way for the company’s revolutionary eProteinTM desktop bioprinter.

Quotient Therapeutics
(Cambridge, MA)
Somatic genomics pioneer Quotient Therapeutics stormed out of stealth with $50m funding from biotech investment specialist Flagship Pioneering. Founded in 2022, the Flagship spin-out is the first to study the human body’s genetic variation and the evolution of its trillion-strong cells. Quotient’s proprietary single molecule, genome sequencing technology platform focuses on somatic genomics (i.e., cellular-level genetic variation), to facilitate the identification of new links between genes and disease and inform drug discovery to prevent, cure or reverse disease. Co-founded by world-class academics, including former Wellcome Sanger Institute director Sir Mike Stratton, Quotient operates from its research bases in Cambridge UK and Cambridge US.

Transition Bio
(Watertown, Cambridge, MA)
Advancing therapeutics that address intractable targets via condensates, Transition Bio is built on technology and IP from the Weitz lab at Harvard University and the Knowles lab at University of Cambridge. Transition Bio, Inc., a microfluidics-driven drug discovery platform company using biophysical sciences and AI tools to map and modulate biomolecular condensates, announced a $50m Series A financing in June 2022, led by Northpond Ventures and joined by Taiho Ventures, Bristol Myers Squibb and Magnetic Ventures. Lifeforce Capital, the lead investor from the company’s seed financing, also participated and was joined by other existing seed investors.

There are currently 90 BioReady communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that have all made a commitment to hosting the life sciences industry.

MassBio, located in MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), has developed a rating system to determine a municipality’s readiness to host biotechnology facilities based on the community’s zoning practices and infrastructure capacity. BioReady® rates these communities in four tiers from Bronze to Platinum. Further information about locating in Massachusetts can be found at https://www.massbio.org/

• Earlier this year, Cambridge and UK Life Science gateway One Nucleus held its 2024 Boston Bootcamp competition with the winners carocell bio, Enhanc3D Genomics, ikarovec and Storm Therapeutics rewarded with a trip to Boston in April. There they had the opportunity to connect with key US contacts and gain valuable insights across navigating the MA ecosystem.

Plans are already afoot for a return delegation to Boston in September to incorporate a pitching day within Biotech Week Boston. For updates visit www.onenucleus.com or follow One Nucleus on Linkedin.