Yacobian of Cummings Properties arranges 6,500 s/f lease to Sample6

Woburn, MA Sample6, an MIT and Boston University spin-out, is moving from Cambridge to its new 6,500 s/f headquarters at Cummings Properties’ 12 Gill St.

Sample6’s technology is used by food producers and retailers, restaurants, and healthcare facilities to avoid, detect, and prevent food-borne disease. The company, which counts multinational consumer-goods firm Unilever, meat-processing company Smithfield, and major dairy-processor Saputo among its clients, secured $12.7 million in Series C financing (for a total of $32 million invested) and a profile in Forbes this summer.

NAI Hunneman executive vice president Evan Gallagher worked with Sample6 CEO Mike Koeris and Cummings Properties leasing director Rob Yacobian on the transaction.

“Mike and his team were seeking a location that would attract employees, be suitable for entertaining investors, and provide the lab facilities it needs,” said Gallagher. “Gill Street met all the requirements at a much lower cost than comparable properties in Cambridge.”

Sample6 is relocating from the Riverside Technology Building on Cambridge’s Memorial Dr. to a private corner suite in a first-class office building. The upgraded space, located at the junction of I-95/128 and 93, includes a newly renovated lab that was delivered by Cummings Properties’ in-house design and construction teams in less than 30 days.

“We see this time and again with firms in all stages of development,” said Yacobian. “By moving to one of our suburban locations, they are able to upgrade their space at a significant savings and apply that savings toward advancing their research and development efforts.”

There are many biotechnology firms in the area, according to Yacobian, including another MIT spinout, Mitra Biotech, which moved to 12 Gill St. in June. Others include Amgen, BD Biosciences, BMA/Covaris, Courtagen, Modular Genetics, and Sanofi Genzyme.

“The Gill Street location gives Sample6 the opportunity to be among these and other like-minded companies in the thriving biotechnology cluster that has developed in Woburn,” said Yacobian.

Sample6 offers two innovative tools: Sample6 DETECT™ and Sample6 CONTROL™. DETECT is an enrichment-free, on-site, in-shift pathogen diagnostic. When paired with the analytics of CONTROL, it allows companies to view food safety from a preventive standpoint rather than a reactive one. Many meat, seafood, dairy, produce, and dry goods processors have partnered with Sample6 to integrate these products into their plants. More information is available at www.sample6.com. 

Cummings Properties’ 10 million square feet of prime space accommodates offices, healthcare facilities, laboratories, retail storefronts, warehouses, co-working spaces, executive suites, and more. With a portfolio of this size and variety, the firm can meet almost any commercial real estate need from 150 square feet to 300,000 square feet. Its in-house experts in design, construction, and property management offer “one-stop shopping” for leasing clients.