Around Town

Watertown Company Creating Way to Dramatically Cut the Number of Pills Patients Take

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Lyndra TherapeuticsA prototype of Lyndra’s stellate medical platform is placed in a machine to undergo stress testing. A company with headquarters in the East End of Watertown will soon start the final trials for a way of delivering drugs that would allow patients to take just one pill a week instead of seven pills or more. And the company is working on technology that could cut it to just two or even one a pill a month. Lyndra Therapeutics moved to its space on Grove Street in 2017, and employs nearly 130 people there, in Lexington, or who work remotely. The company also helps train the next generation of life scientists by working with students from colleges in the area, and has also started reaching out to classes at Watertown High School.

Life Science

Hundreds of Watertown Students Inspired by Local Innovators

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Watertown CoLabNisha Patel of Arranta Bio addressed a class at Watertown High School about a career in science. The following piece was provided by Watertown’s Innovation Career Collaboration:

In this first year of CoLAB, Watertown’s Innovation Career Collaboration, 10 young scientists from five Watertown companies led 49 career exploration sessions at Watertown High School. These real-world discussions kicked off an effort to create a career development community for Watertown students to access the resources they need to build satisfying careers in the innovation economy. Hoping to open the eyes of students to the wealth of careers available to them here in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), a few volunteers from Watertown life science companies and Watertown High School started talking in mid-2021. By June 2022, we had reached virtually every biology, chemistry, and math class at the school – over 750 student-hours.

Business

See What Developers May Do on the Former Russo’s Site

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JacobsA view of the four-story life science center proposed for the former Russo’s site at 560 Pleasant St. Preliminary plans for the former Russo’s property on Pleasant Street have been submitted to the Watertown Planning Department, and include a lab/office building, retail space, a parking garage, with publicly-accessible open space in between. Saracen Properties and BentallGreenOak submitted the plans on April 7, and the group will have a developer’s conference with Planning staff about the project on the 4.82-acre property. Plans show a life science center, retail, and publicly-accessible open space. The project will have at least one community meeting before going to the Planning Board for consideration.

Business

Get to Know Watertown Life Sciences in a Virtual Panel of Biotech Execs – Submit Your Questions

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Leaders of Watertown’s newest industry will be talking about their companies and the influx of life science into Town during the Watertown Business Coalition’s virtual event. A recent survey found about 50 biotech firms located in Watertown of various sizes and stages of development. Get to know life sciences from a panel of five executives from four life science companies located in Watertown. The event will be held on Thursday, April 29 from 4-5 p.m. To RSVP click here. The WBC’s Life Science Panel will include: Joanne Kamens, Executive Director of Addgene; Mark Bamforth, Founder, Exec.

Development

Zoning for Central Business District Changed to Allow Labs, Light Industry in Historic Buildings

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The Town Council approved a change to Watertown’s Zoning Ordinance that would allow life science labs as well as light industrial uses in the downtown area near Watertown Square, but only in structures built 84 years ago or before. The amendment was proposed by Berkeley Investments, the new owners of the building now occupied by Sasaki at 64 Pleasant St., which plans to create life science lab space and preserve the historic mill building, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon. The Zoning amendment changes allowable uses for structures built before the Zoning Ordinance was adopted in 1937, and would allow light industry, non-nuisance manufacturing, laboratory/research, and renewable research. It only applies to the Central Business (CB) zone, which is around Watertown Square. The uses would be allowed by right in the qualifying buildings under 4,000 sq.

ALS TDI

Non-Profit Biotech Brings its ALS Research to Watertown

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A scientist working on a treatment for ALS at one of Watertown’s newest biotechs — ALS Therapy Development Institute. One of the Kendall Square biotech transplants to Watertown brings its unusual business model to Town, and plans to invite in the public to see what they are about when the pandemic is over. The ALS Therapy Development Institute, or ALS TDI, seeks to find treatments for ALS, which is also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Unlike most life science firms, ALS TDI is a non-profit biotech, supported by donors, said Carol Hamilton, Senior Director of Development. “We are the first and, as far as I know, still only non-profit biotech.