A leading biotechnology company will be part of Oxford’s first purpose-built commercial science scheme development.

Littlemore-based Nucleome will occupy almost a third of a new 65,000-square-foot building in Oxford’s West End following a partnership agreement with Mission Street, a specialist developer for the science and innovation sector, and BGO, a leading global real estate investment.

The newly built Inventa building is the first commercial science scheme to be delivered in the city’s West End, the only innovation district within walking distance of Oxford train station.

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Originally a spinout from Oxford University, Nucleome aims to address traditional drug discovery failure rates by derisking novel targets through proprietary genomics approaches.

Nucleome, which was founded in 2019, will be relocating from its existing headquarters at the Oxford Science Park. 

In 2022 the company completed an oversubscribed £37.5m Series A funding round backed by investors including Oxford Science Enterprises, M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, British Patient Capital and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. 

Stephen Harrison, chief scientific officer of Nucleome Therapeutics, said: “Nucleome’s expansion, driven by the significant progress in identifying new drug candidates, has resulted in a need for larger office and lab space.

"We chose Inventa because of its central location, and Mission Street’s reputation for designing buildings that thoroughly accommodate the needs of life science companies. 

"We are looking forward to being part of this exciting new science and innovation hub in central Oxford.” 

The West End has a long-term pipeline of over two million sq ft of commercial and academic buildings.

It is hoped the district will play a crucial role in realising Oxford’s ambitions to become a global top three innovation cluster by 2040. 

Mission Street secured planning consent in December 2023 for the West End’s second phase, known as Fabrica.

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Construction for the 183,000 sq ft, five-storey, new-build scheme is due to commence in September this year. 

The new-build scheme is designed by global architecture firm, NBBJ.

Artem Korolev, founder and CEO of Mission Street, said: “Following extensive collaboration between our teams in designing and delivering Nucleome’s facility, we are excited to welcome them to Inventa for the next chapter of their growth. 

"We look forward to building a long-term partnership with them and delivering a world-class urban innovation district across Inventa, Fabrica and the wider West End.” 

With these developments, BGO and Mission Street are delivering over 1.5m of lab and office space in key strategic UK locations, including the 'Golden Triangle' of Oxford, Cambridge and London.