Shire has announced that it will establish a rare disease innovation hub at its site in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has leased a 343,000-square-foot building in the Kendall Square location for this purpose. The lease begins in the third quarter of 2018, and occupancy of the building is anticipated for the first quarter of 2019.

With the space it currently occupies adjacent to the new building, Shire will create a cross-disciplinary Kendall Square campus, with teams spanning research, clinical development, medical affairs, business development, and other related functions. The company says that the close coordination among these teams and with potential external partners is expected to further catalyze its innovation for rare diseases and specialized conditions.

As part of its planned growth in Kendall Square, Shire is undertaking a strategic review to identify which specific functions and individuals will be located there over time. The company is actively hiring, with nearly 400 positions currently designated for Massachusetts.

Shire will retain its current office, laboratory, and manufacturing space in Massachusetts, including in Lexington, where it has been located since 2007. Shire currently employs more than 3,000 people in Massachusetts and has increased the number of employees in the state by more than 670% in the past 11 years, including the creation of more than 700 new jobs in 2015. The company currently occupies more than two million square feet of space in Massachusetts.

Source: Shire