Well-funded Danish startup 21st.Bio has taken a lease on a 12,000-square-foot office in Davis, which will be the first U.S. location for the life-sciences company.
The company licenses a library of microbial production strains and molecular tools from Novozymes, the world leader in industrial enzymes and microorganisms, which 21st.Bio helps other companies use to make their own products.
“Life sciences and biotech activity in the San Francisco Bay Area has been robust, and this new lease in Davis underlines the growth of new hubs in Northern California,” said Josh Nelson, first vice president at commercial real estate brokerage CBRE’s office in San Francisco, in a news release. “They are ideally situated next to the University of California Davis, giving them access to top talent in research and life sciences, while deepening the region’s expertise."
Based in Søborg, Denmark, just outside of Copenhagen, 21st.Bio helps its clients use Novozymes products in industrial and commercial processes.
In January, Novozymes led a $97 million funding round into 21st.Bio, which is using the investment to help other companies find the best organism to produce a desired chemical, and it also supports development of techniques for large-scale production.
Novozymes is based in Bagsværd, which is the next suburb outside of Copenhagen from Søborg.
Novozymes products are used in a wide variety of processes, from baking, beverages, dairy, fermentation, cleaning, agriculture and fuel production.
Novozymes has been in Davis for more than 20 years, and it has multiple offices and laboratories in the same development, University Research Park.
The space 21st.Bio is moving into is currently occupied by Novozymes and another company. They are moving to make room for 21st.Bio to have its own separate space, said broker Jim Gray, who with Nahz Anvary of Kidder Mathews represented the landlord, University Research Park Investors.
The new company has taken a 10-year lease to start, Gray said. Some 21st.Bio employees are currently working out of Novozymes offices in Davis. They will eventually move into their own separate space following tenant improvements.
Novozymes ranks 20th on the Business Journal's Sacramento Area Technology Companies list this year, with 65 employees.
Nelson and Sacramento broker Jason Goff of CBRE represented 21st.Bio on the lease at 1940 Research Park Drive. The lease occupies the entire building, which was built in 2009.
An analysis conducted by CBRE this year identified Sacramento as one of the top 25 life sciences research talent clusters in the country.
University Research Park has 17 buildings on 33 acres with a total of 306,000 square feet. The park is managed by Sacramento-based Fulcrum.
