Stoke Therapeutics picks Waltham for expanded headquarters as city’s life sciences sector grows 

The biotechnology company Stoke Therapeutics, currently located in Bedford, has announced plans to move its headquarters into a 98,500-square-foot facility at 245 Fifth Ave. in Waltham, doubling its space.

The move is scheduled to take place later this year and will place the company on the top two floors of a newly built six-story, 252,544-square-foot lab developed by Anchor Line Partners on what was formerly a surface parking lot.

Anchor Line described the lease as one of the largest in Boston area life sciences over the past year.

“Waltham has emerged as one of the most compelling suburban life sciences hubs in the country, offering scale, talent and connectivity outside the urban core,” Anchor Line said in a statement.

Although not a record for biotech leases – Novo Nordisk has a lease for 166,000 square-feet at 50-60 Sylvan Road – the Stoke lease is the largest among biotech companies signed since January 2025, according to the Waltham Assessor’s office.

Stoke currently employs 170 people and is growing rapidly, chief financial officer Thomas Leggett told the Boston Globe. The Globe noted that the lease is “a bright spot amid a glut of empty lab space across the region.” More than a third of the square footage devoted to life sciences along Route 128 near the Massachusetts Turnpike is reported to be vacant.

Using RNA therapies to treat nervous system and eye diseases

Stoke and its partner Biogen are in late-stage testing of the drug Zorevunersen, a therapy aimed at treating patients with Dravet syndrome.

Dravet syndrome is a severe developmental disease characterized by recurrent seizures as well as significant cognitive and behavioral impairments. It is most often caused by a genetic mutation that leads to insufficient levels of a protein in neuronal cells, according to the company’s website. Up to 20 percent of children afflicted with the syndrome die before adulthood.

Dravet syndrome afflicts an estimated 38,000 people worldwide, and there are no approved disease-modifying therapies.

Stoke, which has partnered with Biogen in the development of Zorevunersen, recently announced accelerated timelines for the completion of Phase 3 testing, which will support submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The company describes its mission as dedicated to restoring protein levels by harnessing the body’s potential with RNA medicine. Its focus is on diseases of the central nervous system and eye that are caused by a lack of normal protein levels. RNA therapies instruct cells to make the missing proteins. Drugs to treat other conditions are at earlier stages of development.

Stoke reported that it had $391.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of the end of 2025. Combined with proceeds from the Biogen collaboration, the company says these funds are sufficient to support operations into 2028.

Anchor Line said that the Fifth Avenue property is LEED Gold and WiredScore Platinum certified, underscoring a commitment to sustainability. Anchor Line Partners is a Boston-based investment firm with $1.2 billion of commercial real estate assets under management.