Chesterford Research Park is delighted to confirm the expansion of Camena Bioscience within the Science Village Building at the Park. The developer of an industry-leading DNA synthesis technology has renewed its existing lease for a further five years and in tandem taken an additional 1,993 sq ft adjoining suite on the same terms.
Founded in 2016, Camena Bioscience has been based at Chesterford Research Park since its incorporation. The company’s multi-enzymatic technology, called gSynth™, has dramatically improved the accuracy of DNA synthesis over the existing phosphoramidite-based methods. These improvements permit the efficient production of long, multi-gene, DNA constructs and problematic DNA sequences, which now helps Camena’s customers to solve complex biological problems.
Steve Harvey, CEO, Camena Bioscience said: “Chesterford Research Park’s strong biotech history and prime location make it the ideal home for Camena’s UK operations. Having developed our DNA synthesis technology gSynth™ here, it is very satisfying to now be able to expand our operations on site. The expansion will facilitate the build of a new high throughput DNA synthesis foundry to meet the increasing demand for our technology and allow us to continue to support and grow our relationships with the expanding synthetic biology community. Our aim is to be a leading enabler of new synthetic biology applications and with this expansion we are one step closer to that goal.”
Julian Cobourne, Senior Asset Manager, Aviva Investors, joint owners of Chesterford Research Park with Uttlesford District Council commented: “I am delighted that Camena Bioscience has chosen to continue this next phase of growth at Chesterford Research Park. It has been a pleasure to witness the successful evolution of the company to date and to be able to play our part in providing the appropriate mix of accommodation at the right time as Camena continues to expand. As a Park team we are committed to developing long-term trusted relationships with our occupiers to ensure we continue to be able to match their growth ambitions with the provision of high quality laboratory and R&D facilities as well as the excellent amenity space expected of a location such as Chesterford. As we continue to enhance and develop the Park our priority remains the creation and delivery of exceptional spaces for bioscience organisations across the development life cycle for the benefit of both existing and new occupiers.”
Having completed the refurbishment of the Newnham Building in late 2020 – which was fully pre-let to Isomerase, Microbiotica and Oncologica – development continues apace at Chesterford Research Park. The next whole-scale refurbishment now underway is the Emmanuel Building, which on completion will provide up to 37,400 sq ft (3,474 sq m) of fitted laboratory space, divided into four self-contained fully fitted laboratory and write-up area suites. Ready for occupation this summer and of a size that is in high demand, the Emmanuel Building will be ideal for organisations which have scaled-up significantly enough to require that next stage of space beyond start-up.
