Committee backs Repertoire's Watertown biosafety permit

Biosafety Committee · Meeting of September 3, 2026

WATERTOWN — The Watertown Biosafety Committee voted 4-0 to recommend a biosafety permit for Repertoire Immune Medicines as it relocates its lab from Cambridge to 99 Coolidge Avenue. Committee members Brad Parsons, Mia Lieberman, Tim McGuire and Ralph Mele approved the recommendation after the company agreed to add missing blood-cell agents to its safety list. Parsons noted the panel "has actually no authority" and only advises the Board of Health, which has approved every prior recommendation.

Separately, incubator BioLabs presented plans to expand into the entire first floor of 134 Coolidge Avenue, adding two "graduate" tenant suites with a one-way, badge-controlled path between floors; no vote was required since the move does not change BioLabs' scope of work. Members also flagged proposed NIH recombinant DNA guideline changes, in public comment through mid-to-late October, as a future compliance concern.

In the full story:

• Call to order, minutes, public comment
• Item: Repertoire Immune Medicines biosafety permit application
• Item: BioLabs (BTP 317) registration amendment for 134 Coolidge Avenue first-floor expansion
• Additional business
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,424 words

Source: the Biosafety Committee meeting of September 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.