Amgen agrees 10-year lease on platinum-rated Cambridge Science Park building

Amgen is relocating to a neighbouring building on Cambridge Science Park.

The biotech company, which first established itself on the park more than 25 years ago, is taking three floors across 35,000 square feet on a 10-year lease.

The switch to the 216 Cambridge Science Park - the city’s only platinum-rated building on the WiredScore commercial property ranking system - was agreed on March 25, during lockdown. It represents the largest office letting in the city during quarter one and comes after 216 was taken back to a concrete shell and rebuilt.

Amgen, which focuses on R&D in Cambridge, will switch from neighbouring 214 and 240 Cambridge Science Park, which will be remodelling and refurbished to the same standard as 216 from next year by LGIM Real Assets, a division of Legal & General Investment Management.

Bidwells advised LGIM Real Assets, while Amgen was advised by Cushman and Wakefield on the deal.

Andrew Mercer, office sector lead at LGIM Real Assets, said: “This letting, agreed during the current lockdown on the March quarter-day, demonstrates the continued interest we are seeing in commercial space within technology and life science centres, despite ongoing uncertainty in the wider market.

“Many such centres are home to companies playing an active role in the fight against coronavirus, whether that’s through lending their facilities for testing or helping to develop the country’s diagnostics infrastructure.”

George Craig, a surveyor in Bidwells’ Business Space Agency team, said: “It’s the biggest Cambridge deal of Q1 2020 and completed during a week of unprecedented global uncertainty so it’s a real demonstration of the quality of Legal and General’s development and continued confidence in Cambridge Science Park and its enduring science and technology sector.”

Earlier this month, Amgen and Adaptive Biotechnologies announced a collaboration to discover and develop fully human neutralising antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 to prevent or treat Covid-19.

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