Firm will join its manufacturing and R&D sites in the East Kendall area.

Boston continues to grow as a hub for biotechnology, attracting additional pharmaceutical and other biotech firms. More recently, French pharmaceutical company Ipsen announced that it will be moving its US headquarters from Basking Ridge, New Jersey to Kendall Square.

Ispen already has facilities in Boston – a commercial/manufacturing site at One Kendall Square and an R&D site at 650 East Kendall Street, both of which were opened in 2015. The company will be moving all of these 150 jobs and combining them with the operations it is moving from New Jersey into a new East Kendall location. The US headquarters will move to Cambridge over a 12-month period. 

Part of the attraction of Boston for Ipsen was the promise of $1.2 million in state tax incentives, which was orchestrated by the Massachusetts Life Science Center. In return, Ipsen has pledged to add 250 new jobs as part of its expansion in Boston. The tax incentives will be funded by a new life science bill that Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is expected to sign in the near future.

“We are entering into a new era of innovation and growth for Ipsen as a leading global biotech company. By bringing our headquarters to Cambridge, we will build a sustainable innovation engine to advance opportunities for our employees and our overall business,” said Richard Paulson, CEO of Ipsen North America, in a statement. “The Massachusetts Life Science Center has been instrumental throughout this process, and we look forward to continuing to partner with them as we grow our footprint even further in Cambridge and ultimately address patient needs.”

Ipsen will maintain a core services center in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.