BCAT News

The Burlington Select Board issued a proclamation welcoming a high-tech medical laboratory business to town during Monday night’s meeting.

They recognized the Azzur Group, which has built a set of cleanroom labs at 60 Blanchard Road, for being part of the town’s efforts to build a strong biotech industry in town.

“This is a great success story for you, the company and the community,” Burlington Economic Development Director Melisa Tintacolis said. “I think this is the fulfillment of many years of work.”

Tintocalis said the project was streamlined because 60 Blanchard Road was one of a number of properties that was rezoned by Town Meeting in January 2020 to allow life sciences by right.

Azzur Group President and COO Ravi Samavedam said the business started out as a consulting firm, a function that still makes up the majority of their work, but they expanded into cleanrooms on demand after noticing a niche in the market. He said when a medical company is getting to the testing phase they need a cleanroom. These facilities are expensive to build, especially for a start-up, and take a long time to complete. Alternatively companies can partner with other, often larger, entities but then they often must give up their exclusivity on their intellectual property.

Azzur provides cleanrooms for companies without compromising their hold on their intellectual property or having them go through the time and expense of building their own.

“That’s where Azzure comes in – cleanrooms on demand,” Samavedam said. “It’s good for companies that want to get to trials quickly.”

He added that Azzur takes care of all the permitting for the cleanrooms and takes care of all waste and other aspects of running a lab. He said the company has a saying: “The clients bring the science and we bring the compliance.”

As reported on BNEWS, Moderna, the maker of one of the three COVID-19 vaccines, has come to an agreement to be the first company to use Azzur Group’s Burlington cleanrooms.

Town Administrator Paul Sagarino said a lot of work has gone into making Burlington a destination for biotech and medical device companies.

“There’s been a lot of teamwork and I have a few acknowledgements – Town Meeting for approving rezoning, the Planning Board, the Planning and Building Departments and the Board of Health for all their work. I’m grateful for all the teamwork that was displayed in order to get this done.”

Members of the board were happy to welcome the company to town.

“Welcome to Burlington as part of our fast-growing cluster of biotech firms that we’ve been able to attract in the last years,” Member Mike Runyan said.

“I think we’ve proven over the years that when we work together wonderful things happen – starting with Northeastern,” Member Bob Hogan said. “It’s nice to see the town can be cooperative with great companies.”

Select Board Member Nick Priest read the proclamation. The language is as follows:

Whereas: Azzur Group has selected Burlington, MA for its latest East Coast “Cleanroom on Demand” operation; and

Whereas: A key aspect of Burlington’s economic development strategy is attracting and retaining such companies; and

Whereas: Cleanrooms on Demand offers pharmaceutical manufacturing space for small and fast-growing businesses in the region to better compete in the rapid discovery of life-saving biopharmaceutical treatments, vaccines and medical devices; and

Whereas: Azzur Group’s Cleanrooms on Demand facility will continue to establish Burlington as a leader in pharmaceutical innovation and support the growth of other companies;

Now, Therefore, We, The Select Board of the Town of Burlington, hereby proclaim that The Azzur Group is gratefully welcomed to the Town of Burlington and its growing science ecosystem.