ROCKVILLE, MD. — BioMed Realty has sold the GSK Global Vaccine Centre, a three-building, 635,058-square-foot vaccine research and development facility in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Rockville, for $337.5 million. The buyer was not disclosed.
Originally built in 2003, the facility is situated on a 28-acre site in the heart of the Interstate 270 corridor, known as “DNA Alley” for its high density of biotech companies. The location is near the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute Headquarters, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the University of Maryland Shady Grove Life Sciences Center and Johns Hopkins University Belward Campus.
The GSK Global Vaccine Centre is fully leased to GSK, a subsidiary of British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which announced its move into the property in December 2016. The campus will house up to 450 scientists and support staff working on 12 vaccine development programs, including potential vaccines for shingles, dengue fever, respiratory syncytial virus and Group B Streptococcus. The property is GSK’s third global vaccine center, following its existing facilities in Italy and Belgium.
HFF’s Jim Meisel, Dek Potts, Andrew Weir, Stephen Conley and Matt Nicholson represented BioMed in the sale. Kevin MacKenzie, Cary Abod and Lee Redmond, also of HFF, arranged the buyer’s acquisition loan through Goldman Sachs.
Founded in 2004, BioMed Realty is a San Diego-based life sciences real estate firm. Affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII own the company.
— Jeff Shaw