Bill Gates-Backed Bioscience Startup Inks Lease at Hudson Research Center

A bio manufacturing company backed by Bill Gates is establishing its executive headquarters and research lab in Hudson Research Center at 619 West 54th Street.

C16 Biosciences will move into 20,000 square feet of pre-built lab and office space on the seventh floor of the building at the end of this summer or early fall. Asking rents were in the mid- to high-$90s on a triple-net basis.

The new headquarters will house researchers developing an alternative to palm oil — an ingredient in more than half of consumer products and a cause of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Bloomberg. 

Hudson Research Center, built in 1930, features HVAC systems, natural gas storage and plenty of electrical capacity for the life sciences company. Hudson Research Center already hosts cancer therapeutics company HiberCell and the New York Stem Cell Foundation, which recently expanded its footprint in the building by 23,000 square feet, bringing its presence to a total of 65,000 square feet on two full floors.

C16 Biosciences’ move into the seven-year lease from an NYU Langone-run biotech co-working space in Hudson Square comes after the company closed on a $20 million, Series A investment round led by Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures last year. Its expansion is another marker of the booming life sciences sector in New York. […]