Seattle-based biotechnology company Bonum Therapeutics in August will double its current space as it looks to expand its team.
The company is moving from 1616 Eastlake Ave. E. to a 31,000-square-foot space a few blocks away at 1150 Eastlake Ave. E. in Seattle's Eastlake neighborhood.
The move comes as Bonum seeks to gradually expand its 31-person team to about double that over the next few years, according to Bonum founder and CEO John Mulligan.
"We're now about to start preclinical development on our current lead program," Mulligan said. "We've filled up our space, and we needed more room for more people and to be able to work on more programs."
Bonum is developing protein drugs, with the initial target being solid tumors. According to the company, these treatments only deliver biological activity where needed. Mulligan said this can take drugs that are only somewhat effective and very toxic and make them much more effective and much less toxic. He added that although Bonum is focused on cancer treatment for now, its technology could be helpful in other fields, like immunology.
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All but two of Bonum's employees are based in the Seattle area. For its new space, Mulligan said Bonum needed standard biotech equipment like tissue culture space and lab benches.
Bonum's predecessor, Good Therapeutics, was acquired by Roche in 2022 for $250 million upfront, plus milestone payments. Mulligan said Roche bought Good's lead program, and the Good team took the core intellectual property to focus on new drugs, in turn relaunching as Bonum after the purchase. Roche also got a license to the core intellectual property, Mulligan added.
"Literally everybody was laid off on Monday evening from Good, and hired back again at Bonum on Tuesday morning," Mulligan said.
After relaunching as Bonum in September 2022, the company raised a $93 million Series A round a couple months later. Bonum means "good" in Latin. Bonum has an opening for a senior scientist on its website.
Vivo Capital, Rivervest Venture Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Digitalis Ventures, 3x5 Partners (since acquired by American Century Investments) and Codon Capital all invested in Bonum.
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