BioMed Sues Flexible Lab Operator Over Unpaid Rent
Blackstone's life sciences real estate arm sued a tenant over millions in allegedly unpaid rent.
BioMed Realty has sued flexible life sciences workspace provider SmartLabs, claiming it breached its contract and owes $2.7M in rent and fees for 52K SF at 21 Erie St. in Cambridge, according to the complaint, filed Sept. 24.
The landlord claims that SmartLabs "repeatedly failed to pay rent" and has an outstanding total of more than $885K and nearly $2M in associated charges, Law360 first reported.
BioMed, one of the largest life sciences landlords in Cambridge, also claims that SmartLabs was moving money between its various entities, causing it to fail to meet its tenant and debt obligations to the landlord.
"SmartLabs has engaged in a consistent pattern and practice of reallocating funds among its affiliated entities, often without regard to corporate formalities or the financial independence of each entity," the complaint says.
SmartLabs didn't respond to Bisnow's request for comment and hasn't yet responded to the complaint filed by BioMed.
SmartLabs entered the 12-year lease with BioMed on Oct. 30, 2017. The Erie Street property is part of BioMed's 347K SF, three-building Sidney Research Campus in Cambridgeport.
This isn't the first instance of alleged financial wrongdoings between the two companies.
BioMed said it terminated SmartLabs' lease at 750 Gateway Blvd. in San Francisco after the company racked up $24M in payments to contractors over tenant improvements, the San Francisco Business Times reported.
The landlord claimed SmartLabs had failed to pay nearly $1.4M in rent in that building as of November 2023 and incurred $7.2M in fees for defaulting on its lease.
A similar lawsuit was filed against SmartLabs by Truebeck Construction Inc., the SFBJ reported.
The financial troubles come after a roller coaster past five years for SmartLabs, with the company experiencing stages of growth and pullback due to the fizzling life sciences market.
In 2023, the flex lab space operator signed a 140K SF lease at New England Development's 100 CambridgeSide redevelopment, marking one of the largest leases in its portfolio at the time.
A year later, the company announced it was pulling back from its California portfolio, saying it planned to focus efforts on East Coast markets. The company vacated two locations at Tower Place in San Francisco and another site at Gateway Boulevard. The pullback came just months after the company raised $48M in Series C financing.
In June, SmartLabs partnered with flexible workspace provider International Workplace Group to launch a global network of fully managed lab spaces.
The financial woes for SmartLabs also come as venture capital funding for the biotech sector continues to lag. In the first half of 2025, Massachusetts VC funding was down 17% compared to the same period last year, marking the fourth consecutive year of declines, according to a MassBio report.
CORRECTION, OCT. 6, 12:30 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story included the wrong address of the lab building SmartLabs was evicted from in San Francisco. The story has been updated.
