International Biotech Firm Opens Woburn Lab

An international biotech firm will have a new home in Woburn at the Cummings Properties' Tradecenter 128.

Batavia Bioservices of Leiden in the Netherlands focuses on various biotech items from DNA cloning to Phase I/II clinical manufacturing for biopharmaceuticals, including antibodies, proteins or vaccines. 

The Woburn facility contains multiple BSL-2 laboratories dedicated to specific tasks including Molecular Biology, mammalian cell line generation, protein production, protein purification or assay development, said Angus McQuilken of Mass Life Sciences.

Christopher Yallop, the chief operating officer of Batavia, said, “We have chosen the greater Boston area due to its importance as a biotech cluster. Positioning ourselves here allows us to be close to our customers, which we deem extremely important in delivering on time and on budget.”

According to McQuilken, Batavia has hired six employees for the Woburn facility.

The company has already hired six employees for the new facility, with plans to hire four more by the end of this year. 

“Massachusetts leads the world in life sciences thanks to our growth strategy of investing in education, innovation and infrastructure,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “We welcome BataviaBioservices, and we look forward to working with them to create jobs and opportunities in the commonwealth.”

“Batavia Bioservices opening a lab facility in Woburn is a testament to the critical role Massachusetts plays in the global life sciences value chain,” added Ken Brown, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of International Trade & Investment. “I wish the company much success and look forward to their growing presence in the commonwealth.”

Dennis Clarke of Cummings Properties said that working with the Dutch company has gone well.

“It has been a pleasure working with Batavia to meet its specialized laboratory needs,” said Clarke, Cummings Properties’ president and CEO.  “The firm has a very promising future, and will find good company here at TradeCenter 128, where several other international firms have located their U.S. headquarters.”

Batavia and other international biotechnological firms are in Boston this week for the 2012 BIO International Convention at the Massachusetts Convention and Exhibition Center.