Monday, November 24, 2008

Agios forms largest cancer metabolism research lab in Cambridge

By Mass High Tech Staff

In leasing a 21,000 square-foot facility in Cambridge, Agios Pharmaceuticals has opened the world’s largest laboratory for cancer metabolism research, Agios officials reported. The facility is located in Forest City Enterprises’ University Park at MIT.

The field of cancer metabolism concentrates on cell growth within cancer cells, which rely on more nutrients than normal cells to survive, Agios reports. While the company’s initial plans draw on cell metabolism therapeutics related to cancer, it may also eventually apply to other fields, including diabetes, inflammatory, autoimmune and neurological diseases.

The company announced in July that it had secured $33 million in first round financing, for development of cancer metabolism-regulating drugs. The investment was co-led by Third Rock Ventures, Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners.

Agios Pharmaceuticals was founded by cell metabolism leaders Lewis C. Cantley, director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School; Tak W. Mak, of The Campbell Family Institute for Cancer Research and The University of Toronto; and Craig B. Thompson, director of the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania.