NewHavenBIZ

4 n e w h a v e n B I Z | A u g u s t 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m T he former Chick's Drive-In, West Haven's iconic beachfront hot dog and seafood eatery that closed six years ago aer the death of its owner, sold recently to a group of local entrepreneurs. e Amico Group LLC of North Haven bought the 6,700-square-foot former restaurant and 2.5 acres of shorefront land it sits on for $1 million, according to brokers. e property at 183 Beach St. in West Haven's Savin Rock section has been vacant since closing its doors in 2015, just months aer the death of its longtime owner Joseph E. "Chick" Celentano. Family members said at the time that it was Celentano's wish for them to end the business aer he died. e 1950s-era restaurant, famous for its Savin Rock-style split grilled hot dogs, lobster rolls and fried seafood, served as a gathering spot for generations of West Haveners and beach-going visitors in its heyday. e new owners say they have discussed launching a new restaurant at the site, but a final decision hasn't been made. n A r o u n d t h e R e g i o n Subway taps big names in sports to pitch sandwiches Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, Tom Brady and Stephen Curry have signed on to be part of Milford-based Subway's latest promotional campaign. Basketball legend Charles Barkley was also hired as the new voice of the sandwich chain, part of its new "Eat Fresh Refresh" ad blitz. e celebrity sports stars are part of Sub- way's major marketing and menu overhaul to boost sales. Twenty new menu updates were rolled out along with upgrades to on- line ordering and restaurant remodels. Appearing on TV commercials, social media and digital content, the sports stars will take part in one of the largest media investments in Subway's history as part of "the brand's transformation journey," the company said. PHOTO | NEW HAVEN BIZ The world headquarters of Subway International at 325 Sub Way in Milford. Sema4 debuts on Nasdaq following merger Stamford-based health intelligence com- pany Sema4 made its stock market debut recently aer closing on its merger with special purpose acquisition company CM Life Sciences. e rapidly-growing Sema4, which also has a lab in Branford, began trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol SMFR. It opened at $11.40 a share. Spun out of New York's Mount Sinai Health System, Sema4 first announced its plans to go public in February in a SPAC deal that valued the company at $2 billion. e merger gives Sema4 a $500 million cash infusion, which it plans to use to "support its organic operating needs and capitalize on inorganic opportunities to accelerate growth" through acquisitions, according to an announcement. Sema4, which employed 500 people in Connecticut as of February, uses artificial intelligence to build predictive models in the areas of women's health and oncology. Arvinas gets $1B in breast cancer drug deal with Pfizer New Haven's Arvinas will get help from Pfizer to develop and commercialize its drug for advanced breast cancer, in a deal potentially worth $2.4 billion. Pfizer, the maker of breast cancer drug Ibrance, will pay Arvinas $650 million up front, and up to $1.4 billion more based on milestones, as part of the global collabora- tion deal for Arvinas' drug ARV-471, the two companies said. In a separate deal, Pfizer, which has a large Connecticut presence, has also agreed to an immediate $350 million equity invest- ment in Arvinas, giving the pharma giant a 7% ownership stake. ARV-471 is part of a new class of protein-degrader drugs, pioneered by Yale scientist and Arvinas founder Craig Crews, that harness the body's own cellular trash-disposal system to remove proteins that cause disease. It targets the estrogen receptor, a primary driver of hormone-pos- itive breast cancer. Under the agreement, Arvinas and Pfizer will equally share development and com- mercialization costs for the drug, as well as any profits, the companies said. With $39B buyout deal closing, Alexion now part of AstraZeneca New Haven-born Alexion Pharmaceu- ticals, whose blockbuster blood-disorder drug Soliris made it one of the Elm City's biggest biotech success stories a decade ago, is officially the rare disease arm of pharma giant AstraZeneca. UK-based AstraZeneca said it wrapped up its $39 billion acquisition of Alexion in July, a week aer clearing its final hurdle with a green light from UK regulators. First announced last December, the acquisition has been billed by industry ob- servers as the biggest pharma deal of 2020. Alexion will be renamed "Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease" and will stay in Boston, where the company moved its corporate headquarters in 2018. AstraZeneca has said it expects to also have a "continued presence" in the Elm City, where it now employs more than 500 people at its 100 College St. research facility. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Alexion Pharmaceuticals' research facility at 100 College St. in New Haven. Branford medtech IsoPlexis eyeing $100M IPO Just seven months aer hauling in $135 million in a Series D round for a global expansion, growing Branford-based medical technology company IsoPlexis Corp. is looking to go public. e company in July filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Com- mission for a $100 million initial public offering. IsoPlexis said it would trade on the Nas- daq under the symbol ISO. Founded by Yale students in 2013, the company has developed technology that can help doctors develop personalized cancer treatments by analyzing how a patient will respond to certain immunotherapies. Investors in IsoPlexis include Perceptive Advisors, Ally Bridge Group and accounts managed by Black Rock, as well as Con- necticut Innovations, the state's venture arm. e company employs more than 200 globally and is headquartered at 35 NE Industrial Road in Branford. PHOTO | COURTESY ISOPLEXIS IsoPlexis' IsoLight Platform. Park City Wind opening Bridgeport headquarters Gov. Ned Lamont in July marked the official opening of the headquarters of Park City Wind, an offshore wind energy project planners say will channel 804 megawatts of renewable power to Connecticut residents. e central office, situated at 350 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport, will serve as the venture's main hub for project development, work- force training and community outreach, according to state officials. e opening marks another step forward for Park City Wind, a collaboration between Avangrid Inc. of Orange and Danish in- vestment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. e state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection selected the project for advancement in Dec. 2019. Since that time, the two companies have been working to redevelop an 18.3-acre stretch of Bridgeport waterfront as a staging and fabrication site for the wind farm. e turbines are expected to be built about 23 miles off the coast of Massachu- setts, south of Martha's Vineyard and Nan- tucket in an area with some of the strongest winds on the East Coast. Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastruc- ture Partners have said the effort will create thousands of jobs and produce an economic impact of over $890 million. e companies have committed to making Bridgeport the home of Park City Wind's operations and maintenance hub for the 25-year or longer duration of the project. HPGRUESEN VIA PIXABAY An offshore wind turbine in shallow water. B R I E F S Eric Schadt, founder and CEO of Sema4. Empty waterfront West Haven eatery site slated for redevelopment The empty site of the former Chick's Drive-In restaurant is poised for revitalization, as the property sold July 16. PHOTO | MICHELLE TUCCITTO SULLO

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