Life Sciences Firm Expands in Marlborough

Doug Lawrence, CEO of CeQur

MARLBOROUGH, MA—In a rather unique ceremony that involved breaking a wall instead of turning dirt, life sciences company CeQur has embarked on the start of an expansion initiative that will result in 100 new workers for the firm. The company, which is developing and commercializing simple to use insulin infusion devices for people afflicted with diabetes, held a “wall breaking” ceremony on Monday for the expansion of its offices at 734 Forest Ave. here. When completed later this year CeQur’s space will total 25,000 square feet and will include a new clean room, labs and a manufacturing line. CeQur’s workforce, now at approximately 50, will be increased to approximately 150 at the property over the next two years. The expansion doubles the Switzerland-based company’s operations at the Forest Avenue location. CeQur’s expansion is being undertaken in preparation of the launch of its PAQ three-day insulin infusion device. The company is headquartered in Lucerne, Switzerland, with operations in Nordborg, Denmark and Marlborough, MA. A host of state and local government officials as well as life science industry leaders were on hand for the event. “Over the past year, we’ve optimized PAQ for high-volume, low-cost manufacturing and continued to amass clinical evidence that demonstrate PAQ will offer a safe, simple-to-use and cost-effective alternative to daily insulin injections for people with type 2 diabetes,” says Doug Lawrence , CEO of CeQur. “We are excited to be expanding our facilities here in Marlborough in preparation for the market introduction of PAQ.” “CeQur is a great example of the type of innovative company that helps make Massachusetts the global leader in life sciences,” says Travis McCready , president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center , who was a speaker at the ceremony. “The world’s top 10 leading medical device companies all have a physical presence in Massachusetts, and we are pleased to see CeQur make a similar decision to invest, grow, and manufacture their products here.” In September of last year, CeQur announced a Series C financing of $100 million. The financing will support further clinical and regulatory activities, manufacturing scale-up and commercial operations for the 2016 first commercial launch of PAQ. Woodford Investment Management LLP and Arthurian Life Sciences led the private financing round. Existing company investors including Endeavour Vision, Schroder & Co. Banque SA, and VI Partners also participated in the Series C financing. The company was established in January 2008 and is led by a team of executives with backgrounds from Becton Dickinson, J&J, Novo Nordisk, Lilly, Abbott, Roche, and Smith & Nephew.