Amgen Inc. announced an agreement Monday to become a sponsor of LabCentral, a biotech incubator in Cambridge, Mass. The Thousand Oaks pharmaceutical company can nominate up to two biotech startups a year for residence in LabCentral’s facilities. The lab has 28,000 square feet and can house 28 early stage companies. Other sponsors of the project include Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, MIT and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Financial details of the Amgen sponsorship were not disclosed. Sasha Kamb, senior vice president of discovery research at Amgen, noted that the sponsorship will give the company access to emerging technologies and scientists. “Given our commitment to early stage research, Amgen’s sponsorship with LabCentral enhances our presence within Cambridge and fosters science-driven curiosity and research innovation, which in turn, has the potential to lead to promising new therapies,” Kamb said in a statement. Shares closed down $5.64 or 3.3 percent to $164.53 on the Nasdaq.
