Labshares Expanding to Watertown
Neumora's Wegovy alternative, Dyno announces manufacturing pact, and more
Good morning,
We start with some big news for Watertown Square.
Labshares, a Nonantum-based shared-laboratory operator focused on biotech companies, announced plans to open their second location at 66 Galen Street, joining fellow tenants Lifemine Therapeutics, NanoDx, Psivant Therapeutics, and VidaVinci. The company offers a variety of lab space options, from single lab benches in shared spaces, up to private suites. Their current space is home to 25 companies, and the lease at 66 Galen will double their footprint, creating space for another 25-30 companies . Labshares, with a nearly 90% occupancy rate, has been a bright spot In a tough biotech lab market. According to Colliers, the lab vacancy rate is 32% across the metro area, and reaches over 50% in certain submarkets like Allston and Alewife.
With all these communities to choose from, Labshares CEO Phillip Borden said they chose Watertown because “it’s in the “goldilocks zone” of greater Boston biotech — it’s close enough to Kendall Sq. and the airport to make it incredibly convenient, yet it offers much greater accessibility and a lower cost than Kendall Sq. or the Seaport. It perfectly fits Labshares’ model of a capital-efficient, convenient, and flexible option for emerging biotechs.” The announcement also brings 66 Galen Street up to 95% occupancy, a rapid change after the building opened with no pre-leased tenants, and marks the first time in more than 5 years that the lot is occupied.
Labshares joins fellow incubator and shared lab space operators Cambridge Scientific and Bioinnovation Labs, who currently host a combined 32 companies, or roughly 33% of the biotechs in Watertown. These smaller spaces not only represent an entry point for new companies, but are also a way to keep companies looking to downsize in Watertown. At least two firms, Sherlock Bio and Satellite Bio have downsized and moved from Watertown to smaller suites in Labshares’ Nonantum office park in the last 18 months. In the long run, the hope is that these smaller companies will out-grow the shared labs occupy some of the larger unoccupied lab spaces in town.
Neumora Pursuing NLRP3 inhibitor for weight loss
Neumora Therapeutics, a clinical-stage neuroscience company headquartered in the East End, announced that based on results from mouse models released during their recent R&D Day, they will pursue their NLRP3 inhibitor NMRA-215 as a treatment for weight loss in a proof of concept clinical trial next year. Inhibiting NLRP3 reduces inflammation related to both obesity and neuro-degenerative diseases, and appears to compliment GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide (Wegovy). According to company data, NMRA-215 had the highest observed weight loss induction both on its own and in combination with semiglutide in diet induced obesity mouse models, compared to four other NLRP3 inhibitors in development. The company aims to start clinical trials of NMRA-215 in Q1 2026, with results expected by the end of the year. While NMRA-215 may have class leading pre-clinical data, it will be fourth the NLRP3 inhibitor to reach a clinical trials studying weight loss, behind competitors BioAge, NodThera,and Ventyx.
Dyno Therapeutics announces manufacturing deal and new muscle targeting gene delivery vector
At their Genetic Agency Technology Conference held in the Seaport last week, Dyno Therapeutics, a platform company designing gene therapy delivery methods, announced a manufacturing partnership with Trisk Bio of Stevange, England to manufacturing services for companies that use Dyno’s gene delivery platform. The partnership aims to help early stage companies clear the initial technical hurdles for gene therapies, namely the production of reliable and robust vectors. The partnership expands on Dyno’s Frontiers Program, which provides technical and scientific support to early stage gene therapy companies.
At the same conference, Dyno announced a new targeting vector with a high selectivity for muscles, representing a potential 25 fold decrease in effective dose compared to existing muscle targeting vectors, according to data from the company. This new vector adds to Dyno’s suite of muscle, eye, and brain targeted vectors, including a CNS targeting capsid licensed by Roche earlier this year.
Good morning,
We start with some big news for Watertown Square.
Labshares, a Nonantum-based shared-laboratory operator focused on biotech companies, announced plans to open their second location at 66 Galen Street, joining fellow tenants Lifemine Therapeutics, NanoDx, Psivant Therapeutics, and VidaVinci. The company offers a variety of lab space options, from single lab benches in shared spaces, up to private suites. Their current space is home to 25 companies, and the lease at 66 Galen will double their footprint, creating space for another 25-30 companies . Labshares, with a nearly 90% occupancy rate, has been a bright spot In a tough biotech lab market. According to Colliers, the lab vacancy rate is 32% across the metro area, and reaches over 50% in certain submarkets like Allston and Alewife.
With all these communities to choose from, Labshares CEO Phillip Borden said they chose Watertown because “it’s in the “goldilocks zone” of greater Boston biotech — it’s close enough to Kendall Sq. and the airport to make it incredibly convenient, yet it offers much greater accessibility and a lower cost than Kendall Sq. or the Seaport. It perfectly fits Labshares’ model of a capital-efficient, convenient, and flexible option for emerging biotechs.” The announcement also brings 66 Galen Street up to 95% occupancy, a rapid change after the building opened with no pre-leased tenants, and marks the first time in more than 5 years that the lot is occupied.
Labshares joins fellow incubator and shared lab space operators Cambridge Scientific and Bioinnovation Labs, who currently host a combined 32 companies, or roughly 33% of the biotechs in Watertown. These smaller spaces not only represent an entry point for new companies, but are also a way to keep companies looking to downsize in Watertown. At least two firms, Sherlock Bio and Satellite Bio have downsized and moved from Watertown to smaller suites in Labshares’ Nonantum office park in the last 18 months. In the long run, the hope is that these smaller companies will out-grow the shared labs occupy some of the larger unoccupied lab spaces in town.
Neumora Pursuing NLRP3 inhibitor for weight loss
Neumora Therapeutics, a clinical-stage neuroscience company headquartered in the East End, announced that based on results from mouse models released during their recent R&D Day, they will pursue their NLRP3 inhibitor NMRA-215 as a treatment for weight loss in a proof of concept clinical trial next year. Inhibiting NLRP3 reduces inflammation related to both obesity and neuro-degenerative diseases, and appears to compliment GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide (Wegovy). According to company data, NMRA-215 had the highest observed weight loss induction both on its own and in combination with semiglutide in diet induced obesity mouse models, compared to four other NLRP3 inhibitors in development. The company aims to start clinical trials of NMRA-215 in Q1 2026, with results expected by the end of the year. While NMRA-215 may have class leading pre-clinical data, it will be fourth the NLRP3 inhibitor to reach a clinical trials studying weight loss, behind competitors BioAge, NodThera,and Ventyx.
Dyno Therapeutics announces manufacturing deal and new muscle targeting gene delivery vector
At their Genetic Agency Technology Conference held in the Seaport last week, Dyno Therapeutics, a platform company designing gene therapy delivery methods, announced a manufacturing partnership with Trisk Bio of Stevange, England to manufacturing services for companies that use Dyno’s gene delivery platform. The partnership aims to help early stage companies clear the initial technical hurdles for gene therapies, namely the production of reliable and robust vectors. The partnership expands on Dyno’s Frontiers Program, which provides technical and scientific support to early stage gene therapy companies.
At the same conference, Dyno announced a new targeting vector with a high selectivity for muscles, representing a potential 25 fold decrease in effective dose compared to existing muscle targeting vectors, according to data from the company. This new vector adds to Dyno’s suite of muscle, eye, and brain targeted vectors, including a CNS targeting capsid licensed by Roche earlier this year.
Welcome to Watertown
Frontera Therapeutics (11/2025)
Quick Updates
Finance/Business
Kymera Therapeutics, Werewolf Therapeutics, EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, C4 Therapeutics, Neumora Therapeutics, Disc Medicine, Tectonic Therapeutic, Prime Medicine, Lyra Therapeutics, Acrivon Therapeutics, and Enanta Pharmaceuticals all reporter their Quarterly Financial Results and Business Updates.
Triveni Bio was nominated for a New England Venture Capital Association award.
Recent/Upcoming Scientific Presentations
Seismic Therapeutics presented at PEGS Europe.
Werewolf Therapeutics presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2025 Annual Meeting.
Triveni Bio and Kymera Therapeutics presented at the Inflammatory Skin Disease Summit.
Blogs
Landmark Bio launched a blog. Their first blog post is on CAR-T manufacturing.
Dyno Therapeutics launched a substack. Their first post is on their use of AI in novel gene therapies.
Cultivarium released a new blog post describing their development of a toolbox for working with microbes that degrade PET plastic.
That’s the most recent biotech news in Watertown. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
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