Life Sciences Center to be based in Waltham

It’s not just Cambridge biotechs moving from the suburbs -- the state’s new life sciences agency is moving to the burbs, too.

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency charged with managing the state’s $1 billion life sciences initiative, said it has leased about 6,000 square feet of office space for its new headquarters at the Bay Colony Corporate Center in Waltham, overlooking Route 128 and the Cambridge Reservoir. The agency has been temporarily working out of other agencies’ offices near the State House in Boston.

“We made this decision with an eye towards accessibility and fiscal responsibility, as this space is less expensive than in other areas we considered,’’ said Susan Windham-Bannister, the agency’s president in a written statement.

Many medical device and equipment makers, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Covidien Ltd. and Boston Scientific Corp. are already based in the suburbs.

Over the past year, a growing number of biotechnology companies have moved from Cambridge to the suburbs as prime space becomes increasingly scarce in Cambridge because of booming demand from biotechs and tech companies.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)