Eli Lilly and Company is investing approximately $700 million to launch the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine at a new site in Boston, Massachusetts.

This investment, part of the company’s strategy to advance RNA based therapeutics, builds on its $1.04-billion acquisition of Prevail Therapeutics, a New York-based company developing gene therapies. Working together, Lilly says researchers in both Boston and New York will use RNA and DNA-based technologies to develop new therapies.

Through the work of the Institute, Lilly says it intends to fuel the development of genetic medicines, which already account for more than 20% of Lilly’s diabetes, immunology, and central nervous system research portfolio. Within five years, Lilly projects the Boston site will grow from 120 to more than 250 research biologists, chemists, data scientists, and other experts in genetic medicine while the New York site will grow to include up to 200 scientists.

The Institute will be headquartered in 334,000 square feet of leased space in a 12-story building in the Seaport District of Boston. Occupancy of the new site is scheduled for 2024.

The site will also include a shared space–modelled after Lilly Gateway Labs in San Francisco–to support biotech start-ups in the Boston area. The space will provide dedicated and configurable lab and office space, access to Lilly scientists, and opportunities for collaboration. These companies are expected to create as many as 150 additional new jobs once the space is fully occupied.

Source: Eli Lilly and Company