CAMBRIDGE — Biogen on Tuesday held a ceremonial groundbreaking of its 16-story headquarters in Kendall Square, ushering in the latest phase of the neighborhood’s transformation from “Nowhere Square” to what its backers like to call “the most innovative square mile on the planet.”
Nobel Laureates Walter Gilbert and Phillip A. Sharp co-founded Biogen in 1978 and, four years later, set up shop in a warehouse on Binney Street. When the company moves into its 580,000-square-foot headquarters at 75 Broadway in 2028, Biogen will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.
“We are surrounded by global beacons of progress and ingenuity — companies that led us out of the pandemic, scientists who are cracking the code on diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, and startups destined to unlock answers just waiting to be discovered,” said CEO Christopher A. Viehbacher.
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Biogen also marks the first commercial tenant for the MIT Investment Management Co.’s Kendall Common project, a planned eight-building re-development of the federal government’s Volpe transportation research center with 1.75 million square feet of lab or office space and 1,300 residential units, surrounded by 3.5 acres of open space.
The mood at Tuesday’s ceremony was nothing short of buoyant, with the crowd giving a standing ovation to Gilbert and Sharp and exclaiming over a LEGO model of the building. Speaking in front of a banner proclaiming “Making Breakthroughs Happen in Kendall Square,” Governor Maura Healey and MIT President Sally Kornbluth both emphasized Massachusetts’ longstanding position as a leader in the knowledge and innovation economies.
These days, that position can feel under threat, givenrecent decisions from the federal government that Kornbluth said are “jeopardizing” the long-enduring partnership between academic research and government support. So a blue-chip drugmaker planting a flag in Kendall is a good sign.
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“When a company as influential as Biogen breaks ground on the new global headquarters, it is an unmistakable vote of confidence — confidence in Massachusetts, confidence in Cambridge, and confidence in Kendall Square, and confidence in the future,” Kornbluth said. “That’s a very, very important signal to the world right now. … It is on us, on us in Massachusetts, to find new ways to make sure this amazing ecosystem can maintain its record of trailblazing science and transformative treatments and cures.”
Healey, who last month proposed $400 million to support the commonwealth’s research and innovation economy, also recognized that the industry is facing headwinds.
“Biogen is not just building a new facility — they’re building the future of medicine and innovation,“ Healey said. ”I say this to the world: if you’re a researcher, scientist, entrepreneur, soon-to-be-founder, come to Massachusetts.”
With 1,561 Massachusetts workers, Biogen is the 11th largest biopharma employer in the state, according to industry group MassBio. That’s down from 2,800 employees in 2021, the year before Viehbacher came onboard as chief executive and pledged a “complete redesign” of the company.
Biogen currently leases space in three Kendall Square buildings — 225 Binney St., 105 Broadway, and 125 Broadway — and owns a lab at 115 Broadway, across the street from its future headquarters. The company will move in to the new building in 2028, consolidating its three leased office buildings. Mark Chaffee, Biogen’s head of global occupancy planning, said the company will keep its owned lab building.
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Catherine Carlock can be reached at catherine.carlock@globe.com. Follow her @bycathcarlock.