Sonoma Bio to cement its roots in Seattle with a new waterfront manufacturing and R&D site

Endpoints News

A year after Jeff Bluestone’s Sonoma Biotherapeutics netted $265 million in a huge Series B, the biotech is now looking to establish itself in the manufacturing ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest.

Sonoma has entered into a lease agreement to develop an 83,000-square-foot manufacturing and R&D center in Seattle, the company said Wednesday. The company’s gene modified Treg therapies, born out of the R&D lab in South San Francisco, will be made at the site.

In an interview with Endpoints News, Sonoma’s chief technical officer Heidi Hagen said the company is planting its manufacturing flag in Seattle to gain access to the region’s talent and experience with cell therapy and its general manufacturing pedigree. Bluestone also highlighted the Seattle area’s “deep local capabilities and expertise” in prepared remarks.