Rockville, MD (November 5, 2009) – Expression Pathology, a leading developer of technology for tissue protein analysis, needed a larger corporate office to accommodate an expansion of its work force and better support its research collaborations and contract services.
The privately held biotechnology company, which had its sights set on locating in the 300-acre Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in Montgomery County, called on Scheer Partners to identify a new facility. Scheer Partners, the leading provider of integrated commercial real estate services for the health science industry in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan regions, announced today that Expression Pathology has signed a five-year lease for 8,000 square feet of laboratory and office space at 9620 Medical Center Drive in Rockville.
Expression Pathology, which moved to its new space on October 1, occupies 6,500 square feet and is subleasing the remaining 1,500 square feet to Cellectricon, a Swedish biotech company that provides cell-based screening products for research and drug discovery.
“The space works extremely well for Expression Pathology, because it required the company to make very few improvements,” says Matt Brady, a vice president with Scheer Partners who represented Expression Pathology in the deal.
Rickman Development owns the 64,000-square-foot building where Expression Pathology and Cellectricon are now housed. Rexahn Pharmaceuticals formerly occupied this 8,000-square-foot space. Expression Pathology’s new headquarters is more than 60 percent bigger than its previous office, which totaled about 4,000 square feet that it subleased from Capital Genomix at 9290 Gaither Road in Gaithersburg. In April of this year, Expression Pathology announced that it had received an additional $6.5 million in financing, exclusively led by Abraxis BioScience, a Los Angeles-based biotech company. Expression Pathology said it would use the funding to apply its patented proteomics technology in developing proprietary, personalized-medicine clinical assays.
The state of Maryland also committed $125,000 to Expression Pathology for the company’s development of a test for the HER2 protein, an important biomarker in breast cancer tissue samples. This funding, announced by Expression Pathology in February of 2008, is part of the Maryland Technology Development Corp.’s Maryland Technology Transfer Fund and the Maryland Venture Fund’s Challenge Investment Program. “Expression Pathology has scored some nice funding in recent months, and its new space provides ample room for the company to add more employees,” Brady says.
About Scheer Partners Inc. Founded in 1991, Scheer Partners is the leading provider of integrated commercial real estate services for the health science industry and has offices in Rockville and Tysons Corner. Focused exclusively on the Washington and Baltimore regions, Scheer Partners combines its in-depth knowledge of the local market with a team of expert in-house professionals to deliver the best possible results to clients.
The company provides a wide array of fully integrated services, including tenant and landlord representation, construction management and development. In addition, Scheer Partners is uniquely positioned in the life sciences market, having completed more than 500 life sciences projects in the Washington area. The company’s Web site is www.scheerpartners.com. For more information please contact: Neil Adler of D*MNGOOD® 202-683-8975 (office) 410-499-5004 (cell) neil.adler@dmngood.com
