PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AbSci announced today that the company has finalized a lease agreement to relocate its headquarters to the new Hudson Building in downtown Vancouver, WA. AbSci expects to begin renovations by the beginning of September, and plans to take occupancy of the state-of-the-art lab facility by Q4 of this year, where the company will continue to develop and commercialize its revolutionary protein production technology.
AbSci's relocation to the downtown Vancouver area is a reflection of the commitment and support the company has received from the local community, CREDC, Killian Pacific, and the State of Washington, including a commitment of $200,000 from Governor Inslee's Strategic Reserve Fund to be used for the build out of AbSci's lab.
"The life sciences and global health sector is a leading driver in Washington State and growing rapidly, representing the fifth largest employment sector and contributing $12.5 billion to the state GDP last year," said Governor Inslee. "We are excited to welcome AbSci to Vancouver and will continue to support the community's efforts to build this growing cluster in Clark County."
AbSci has experienced rapid growth over the past five years since being founded in Portland in 2011. The company currently has 14 full-time employees and anticipates adding another 20-30 new jobs within the next five years. AbSci's growth is attributed to the significant industry interest and development in the company's next-generation protein manufacturing platform, SoluPro™, which offers dramatic cost, yield, and manufacturing flexibility improvements to its biopharmaceutical partners.
"We've been committed to finding a long-term home in Vancouver, but needed a space that could accommodate our unique requirements and continued growth for at least the next five years," said Sean McClain, Founder and CEO of AbSci. "The Hudson Building's modern layout allowed us to design an efficient and collaborative facility that will support the company's growth for the foreseeable future."
Killian Pacific, the developer of the Hudson Building, designed the LEED Gold-Certified building to reflect their vision for a collaborative and community office in the heart of downtown Vancouver. AbSci's plans for their space include a wide-open floor plan to encourage greater collaboration between the various teams and departments at AbSci. Taking inspiration from the historical Henry Ford & Thomas Edison lab in Fort Meyers, FL, AbSci's lab will highlight the 15 foot high ceilings, heavy wood structure, and large operable windows while housing AbSci's state-of-the-art bioprocessing equipment, and promises to be one of the best biotechnology spaces the Northwest has to offer.
"We are excited that AbSci has found a long-term home in Clark County and look forward to continuing to work with the company along with our other private and public partners to growing the life sciences ecosystem in the community," said CREDC President Mike Bomar. "The collaboration that has occurred to get to this point has created a great deal of energy and momentum on this front."
ABOUT ABSCI
AbSci is a global leader in protein production technologies. The company's SoluProTM expression platform achieves revolutionary yields of soluble and active protein products. AbSci's unique approach accelerates drug discovery timelines, increases manufacturing efficiencies, and drastically reduces costs for the biopharmaceutical industry. For more information, please visit www.abscibio.com.
SOURCE AbSci
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