Showing posts with label biotech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biotech. Show all posts

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Rockville biotech firm partners with Michael J. Fox Foundation on Parkinson's research effort

Vigene Biosciences, a biotech firm based in Rockville, has partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to further research on Parkinson's disease treatment. The partnership will make viral vectors that target alpha-synuclein, a substance that clumps in the brains of Parkinson's patients, more readily available to researchers in 2018.

"We are pleased to have taken this step to make critical Parkinson's disease research tools more accessible to the wider research community," Dr. Zairen Sun, Vigene's CEO, said in a statement. "We believe that a key way to accelerate therapeutic development for Parkinson's patients is to provide validated viral vectors, that will enable researchers to obtain quality data, so that they focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease."

Friday, September 2, 2016

Washington Property Co. acquires 2nd I-270 corridor office building, as CubeSmart opens (Photos)

Washington Property Company announced yesterday that it has acquired a second office building in the same I-270 corridor office park where it has just converted another one into a self-storage facility. That facility, under the CubeSmart brand, has just opened at 4 Research Place in Rockville.

WPC is more bullish on office space with the second building, 1 Research Court, which it and partner Alex. Brown Realty, Inc. plan to continue to operate as an office property. The partners acquired it for about $17 million. Built in 2001, the office building is 89% occupied by 14 tenants. WPC plans to upgrade the building's lobby, elevators, bathrooms and fitness center, to maintain its competitive edge in the market.

“We believe that our planned value-add improvements, along with a dearth of new supply, will increase this property’s appeal to small- and medium-sized businesses, including those in the life sciences," WPC principal Andrew Eshelman said in a statement yesterday. Life sciences and biotech are two bright spots in the moribund Montgomery County private sector economy, and the 270 corridor is the place to be for those industries.

CubeSmart is one of the top four self-storage brands in America, and space can be rented now either online, or by visiting the site in-person. If you've driven past on 270 recently, you've probably noticed the new building facade that faces the highway. The building has 715 climate-controlled storage units, and indoor, air-conditioned corridors to reach them.

Photos courtesy Washington Property Company

Friday, February 7, 2014

DUNCAN BLASTS MONTGOMERY COUNTY DECISION TO BOOT ROCKVILLE BIOTECH STARTUPS

Former Rockville mayor and past Montgomery County executive Doug Duncan yesterday blasted county officials for evicting biotech startups from a Rockville facility, a decision made to clear the way for a federal cybersecurity center at the Shady Grove property.

Duncan and biotech executives condemned the decision, saying it sends a negative message to firms who might consider moving to the county's I-270 life sciences corridor, one of the few bright spots in a stagnant county economy.

The firms currently housed at the William Hanna Center for Innovation will be kicked to the curb in June. Duncan is a current candidate for his old job as county executive.