NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Intellia Therapeutics, a company developing CRISPR/Cas9-based treatments, has leased 65,000 square feet of space near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The expansion comes as it plans to launch a new division that will focus on research to develop ex vivo therapies such as cell editing.
The long-term lease with BioMed Realty Trust for two floors at 40 Erie Street will quadruple the amount of space the company currently occupies, Jenn Smoter, an Intellia spokesperson, told GenomeWeb. The bulk of it will be turned into laboratory space.
Currently, Intellia's staff of about 50 employees occupies 15,000 square feet at 130 Brookline Street, also in Cambridge.
Earlier this month, Intellia announced it will create a new division, called eXtellia, to focus on ex vivo therapeutic applications of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, while Intellia focuses on in vivo possibilities. The new space will house both Intellia and eXtellia divisions. The new division also means the firm will make new hires.
"We can't confirm the number of people we're hiring, but we're going from 15,000 to 65,000 square feet," Smoter said. "You can make some pretty strong assumptions."
Smoter said the firm plans to move to the new facility in the third quarter of 2016.
In September 2015, Intellia raised $70 million in Series B financing.