Campanelli and TriGate Capital sign Moderna to 200,000 s/f lease

Norwood, MA Campanelli, in partnership with the private equity firm TriGate Capital of Dallas, have signed a 15- year, full-building lease with renewal options with Moderna Therapeutics at UPLAND. Moderna, one of the largest privately held drug developers in Mass., plans to build-out a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) mRNA clinical manufacturing facility in the 200,000 s/f  building located at 100 Tech Dr.

The Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) leasing team of Mike Frisoli, Taryn Wilson and Matt Morgan served as exclusive leasing agents for the property. Moderna was represented by JLL managing directors Peter Bekarian and Tom Kent and executive vice president, Don Domoretsky.

Founded in 2011 by Flagship VentureLabs, Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna is a clinical stage biotech company pioneering mRNA Therapeutics across a broad array of therapeutic areas, including infectious diseases, rare diseases, immuno-oncology, cardiovascular disease and, most recently, pulmonary diseases. Moderna has two Phase 1 human studies underway in the U.S. and Europe for infectious disease vaccines. The company has forged collaborations with world-class biopharma companies including AstraZeneca, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Moderna and its partners are advancing several additional mRNA drug candidates toward the clinic, with several additional human clinical studies anticipated to start in the coming months.

Moderna’s Norwood facility will support rapid progression of the company’s advancing mRNA pipeline from development candidate nomination to human proof-of-concept. The site will enable the manufacture, quality, control and supply of clinical grade mRNA therapies and vaccines for Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) toxicology studies as well as Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical studies At the facility, Moderna will carry out all manufacturing activities—from raw material production to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), formulation, filling and finish.

In a statement released by Moderna, Steve Harbin, senior vice president, manufacturing and operations at Moderna, said, “This is quite an ambitious project and will result in a truly unique facility. We are designing the Norwood site to accommodate a broad range of GMP manufacturing needs that reflect the diversity of our pipeline. This will be among the most integrated end-to-end process facilities I have built and seen in my 25 years working in the pharmaceutical industry.”

The company will begin initial build-out of the new facility in October 2016 and plans to open the facility by early 2018.

“This is a major, market moving lease transaction for the 128 South market,” said Frisoli. “Campanelli went ahead and began the project on a speculative basis at UPLAND which helped generate a lot of activity leading to this major lease transaction. With a similar approach at Heritage Landing in Quincy, our team signed nearly 350,000 s/f of lease transactions at Heritage Landing in Quincy over the past three years, and it’s great to see that success continue in Norwood at UPLAND.”

“Moderna looked at a number of potential sites before choosing UPLAND for its clinical manufacturing location, and we are proud of this huge win for Campanelli and for the Town of Norwood,” said Stephen Murphy, partner & principal of acquisitions at Campanelli. “The town has welcomed Moderna with open arms, most notably designating 100 Tech Dr. as an Economic Opportunity Area.”

Located minutes from Rte. 128, UPLAND is a class A office and R&D building totaling 200,000 s/f. At the epicenter of the region’s leading amenities, UPLAND is just minutes from Legacy Place, University Station and the area’s most coveted restaurant spots and grocery chains including Whole Foods and Wegmans. A true live, work, play environment, the campus includes One Upland, a newly developed 262-unit luxury apartment community and is within minutes from both the MBTA commuter rail and high-speed Amtrak that services downtown Boston, Providence, New York and Washington D.C.