The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), an internationally renowned, non-profit research institute dedicated to the study and application of systems biology, has announced its plans to move its global headquarters to the South Lake Union neighborhood.

ISB has signed a lease for approximately 140,000 square feet of office and laboratory space in Vulcan Real Estate’s 401 Terry Avenue N. Building (former headquarters of Merck/Rosetta Inpharmatics), which will initially be home to more than 330 ISB employees starting in spring 2011. This move will eventually allow ISB to increase its square footage dedicated specifically to research by approximately 120 percent relative to its current space, with an immediate 60 percent increase upon occupancy.

In the press release, Lee Hood, MD, PhD, president and Cofounder of ISB said:

 “The Terry Avenue N building more than doubles our current space, permits us to consolidate employees under one roof, and provides easy access to some of the most effective research institutions...

In related news, contract research organization Covance has hired 75 to 80 former Rosetta employees and is moving into 401 Terry Ave N. Covance CEO Joe Herring said he'll "do a few Cascade hikes while he’s out" but I'm not sure if he means the hill up from Terry.

I agree with the authors of "City has a SLU of problems" (2008 Jul 2) that Seattle currently has more important challenges than the two-way Mercer project, but the article perpetuates some myths about South Lake Union.

First of all, while Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate is a major property owner with around 30 percent of the private property in SLU, he does not set the agenda for the neighborhood. Many local groups including the Cascade Neighborhood Council have been shaping the area for many years and it's a great place to live thanks to their hard work. Vulcan uses an upper-class image in their condo advertising that does not fit the facts on the ground, and in my opinion it remains to be seen whether Paul Allen is interested in the people who live here as anything other than a money-making enterprise.

Secondly, biotech is quite active in SLU but being led by non-profits. During a recent visit to SLU-based Seattle... (more)

ZymoGenetics announced today a reduction in its workforce of approximately 32 percent, or 161 employees, as part of a corporate restructuring. Among other things, the cuts impact the oncology division where research activities will be discontinued.

Following the restructuring, Zymo's strategy is to focus its efforts on building collaborative ventures like the $1.1B deal brokered with Bristol-Myers Squibb in January to bring a hepatitis C drug to market.

Read the full statement here.

Local bio-tech company ZymoGenetics has fallen on hard times of late, but their luck turned around this week in a major way when they struck a $1.1B deal with Bristol-Myers to bring a hepatitis C drug to market.

ZymoGenetics stock (ZGEN) is up 38% on the news, this after losing 76% of its market value in 2008. See Xconomy for all the nitty-gritty details.