Development

Arsenal Yards Developers Seek Biotech Tenants, Planning Board Wants More Details

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The latest plans by developers of Arsenal Yards to add biotech research and development space to the multi-use development have been put on hold by the Planning Board. Until now, the focus of the development has been creating new retail and residential space on the former Arsenal Mall property. Developers also have plans to renovate the historic brick buildings on the site, including Building A (where Marshall’s is located). Wednesday night Boylston Properties presented a request to change the approved plans for Building A to allow biotech tenants on the second floor. Mark Deschenes of Boylston Properties said that plans changed since Phase 1 was approved by the Planning Board in May 2017.

Business

Watertown Company Applying for Approval for Treatment for Blindness

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Watertown-based company pSivida is working on a treatment for blindness and has applied for approval in Europe. 

The Boston Business Journal reports that pSivida has submitted an application for Durasert inthe European Union, and the company expects to submit an application to the FDA for approval in the United States later in 2017. The treatment combines a drug and a device that treats an inflammatory disease that can lead to vision loss or blindness. The device is injected and deliver the medicine for up to three years. The company is located in the Riverworks complex on Pleasant Street, in the former Aetna Mills building.

Schools

Watertown Students Take Part in Biotech Event at Northeastern

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On Wednesday, March 8  and Thursday, March 9, 190 Massachusetts high school students participated in Biotech Futures, an event held at Northeastern University and organized by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd). Biotech Futures is a college and career exploration event that exposes students to the educational opportunities and diverse fields of study in the life sciences at the college level though hands-on laboratory experiences and campus tours. Biotech Futures is a component of MassBioEd’s BioTeach program, which provides lab-based training in biotechnology to 150 public high school science teachers each year. “At Biotech Futures events, students see the connection between their BioTeach-inspired lab experiences and exciting collegiate-level science and engineering programs,” said Peter Abair, Executive Director of MassBioEd. “The involvement of faculty and graduate students who share their research and career pathways often makes these experiences transformative for the participating students.

Business

Watertown Company Gets Millions to Fight Cancer

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Watertown’s Selecta received a major funding boost in its effort to treat cancers caused by the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV). Selecta Biosciences received a $3.2 million grant from the Russian-based Skolkovo Foundation to fund work designing a synthetic virus that would trigger a person’s immune system to fight off the cancerous cells, according to a story in the Boston Business Journal. HPV is the second most common cancer in women and leads to more than 529,000 cases of cervical cancer and 270,000 deaths annually, according to a World Health Organization report. There are 26,000 new cases of HPV-related cancers annually in the United States.

Business

Watertown Biotech Firm Gets Big Funding Boost

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A Watertown biotech company received $20 million in funding to developing targeted antigen-specific immune therapies for maladies such as gout. Selecta Biosciences Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology, received the money from new and existing investors. “Severe gout is a highly debilitating disease and just one of the potential therapeutic applications of our proprietary Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP) platform,” said Werner Cautreels, President and CEO of Selecta. “With a well established development path and favorable pro forma economics, SEL-212 is a great opportunity. SEL-212 is just the beginning for us, as we have identified many biopharmaceuticals, including existing and new classes of biologics such as gene therapy, where the effects of anti-drug antibodies are deleterious.”

The company has offices at 480 Arsenal St.