Astellas Unveils New Life Sciences Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Accelerate the Discovery of Breakthrough Therapies

September 5, 2024 |

4 min read

The Astellas Life Sciences Center hosts the company’s first U.S.-based open innovation SakuLab™ incubator space dedicated to fostering pioneering science through collaboration with external partners

TOKYO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, “Astellas”) officially opened its new Astellas Life Sciences Center (ALSC) in Cambridge, Mass., which will accelerate the company’s efforts to create an innovation network across the state, connecting leading incubators, ambitious biotechnology start-ups and academia to foster the discovery and development of potential breakthrough therapies in areas of significant medical need.

The new LEED-certified construction is home to the company’s first U.S.-based SakuLab™, a shared laboratory space for highly innovative external partners. The new ALSC will also house the company’s Engineered Small Molecules (ESM) unit which focuses on advancing research into targeted protein degradation, a novel treatment approach aimed at removing specific proteins from cells to unlock targets that have previously been considered ‘undruggable.’

Approximately 400 Astellas employees will operate out of the new building, representing Medical & Development, Business Development and Research. By providing shared R&D resources, flexible workspaces, and dedicated areas for cross-functional and partner collaboration, the new facility enables Astellas teams to work together more cohesively and capitalize on the diverse expertise within the company and outside our walls to trailblaze the next generation of healthcare solutions.

Tadaaki Taniguchi, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Astellas
“Our new Astellas Life Sciences Center and open innovation SakuLab will advance our efforts to deliver breakthrough therapies and novel modalities, with a focus on areas of high unmet need. It will also strengthen our partnerships with local academic institutions and biotech innovators, underpinning our commitment to pursue transformative treatments in oncology, ophthalmology and rare diseases for patients in need.” Fostering External Research Collaborations to Nurture Innovation and Drug Discovery
The SakuLab at Cambridge joins SakuLab-Tsukuba, the company’s first incubator space located at Astellas’ flagship research campus in Japan, and the TME iLAB in Kashiwa, which serves as an open innovation hub for tumor microenvironment research.

Inspired by the Japanese word “saku,” which in English translates to “to bloom,” Astellas SakuLabs are designed to nurture and grow ideas. These open innovation hubs strive to create unique shared workspaces where bold and diverse ideas can flourish, in hopes of advancing groundbreaking discoveries that will make a meaningful difference for patients.

Expanding Astellas’ Impact in Massachusetts
The new Cambridge facility is part of Astellas’ growing presence in Massachusetts. In 2020, the company launched the Astellas Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AIRM) located in Westborough, Mass., as a global hub for pioneering the development of regenerative medicine and cell-based therapies.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

Cautionary Notes (Astellas)

In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas’ intellectual property rights by third parties. Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.