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18 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m By Liese Klein A s of mid-October, the only sign that Cure Rare Disease would soon be moving to 4 Research Drive in Woodbridge was a label on a mailbox. at said, swathes of new-smelling carpet had been laid on the first floor of the building, and outside, workers were laying down fresh asphalt in the parking lot against a backdrop of the fading fall foliage on nearby West Rock Ridge. e signs that the owner was spiffing up the building echo the excitement generated by the company in the New Haven area bioscience community. A nonprofit biotech, Cure Rare Disease was not just moving to the area – it was moving from Boston. Not to Boston, from Boston. Cure Rare Disease announced in September it had purchased 4 Research Drive, with plans to relocate its headquarters from Boston's Mission Hill district and expand its R&D operation. e building is scheduled to be renovated through the end of 2022 and into 2023, with New Haven firm Svigals+Partners overseeing the architectural work. Built in 1999, 4 Research Drive sold for $2 million, with the transaction recorded in early September at Woodbridge City Hall. Cure Rare Disease said it would occupy 30,000 square feet in the structure and lease the rest to other biotechs. Green chemistry company P2 Sciences currently occupies space on the second floor, along with CheminPharma and rare disease startup Krouzon Pharmaceuticals. "We are excited to join the Woodbridge and Greater New Haven communities to deepen our R&D efforts for rare disease patients while also offering biotechnology companies the opportunity to access Class A life sciences space in the New Haven area," said Cure Rare Disease CEO Rich Horgan. Moving south Even more excited about the Cure Rare Disease move are state biotech boosters, who predict that other Boston companies may soon move south. "ere's a lot of challenges in the Boston area right now," said Dawn Hocevar, president and CEO of BioCT, the state's industry association. "It's only a matter of time, as people make decisions, that they want to just kind of come over the border and still be close enough." In the last few months, Hocevar said, bioscience firms from Rhode Island, Georgia and North Carolina have relocated to Connecticut. In addition, a biotech from Germany is exploring a move to New Haven, and a California biotech recently moved to Fairfield County. Other Boston companies have also been exploring their options to the south, she said. Biotech execs cite the affordability of both commercial and residential real estate in the state, in addition to access to top talent and venture capital, Hocevar said. "Connecticut is getting more attention as we continue to grow," Hocevar said. In addition, the fact that many bioscience executives live in Connecticut continues to be a draw, she said. "When a company hires a CEO that lives here, they may decide they want to have the company here." But don't count our neighbor to the north out yet — Boston remains a world center of bioscience growth and development, with between 26 million and 59 million square feet of lab and manufacturing space expected to be added to Massachusetts' real estate portfolio by the end of 2025, according to MassBio. e industry group reported earlier this year that 1.7 million square feet of biotech manufacturing space is currently under construction in the state, along with 14.86 million square feet of lab space. Even so, bioscience in the Boston area is increasingly moving out of its historic center in Cambridge's Kendall Square to other parts of the city, or suburbs like Waltham, Watertown, Natick and Framingham, and even to relatively distant cities like Worcester. In its recent annual report, MassBio reported that 57% of biotech VC money in the state went to companies outside Cambridge in 2022, up from 42% in 2021. Prime biotech space within Cambridge is also Bay State Defection Boston biotech's move sparks hopes for local sector expansion Dawn Hocevar PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED P Cure Rare Disease's new Woodbridge headquarters at 4 Research Drive, which it purchased in September for $2 million.

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