Tract Bio opens Charlotte lab at The Pearl, plans 20 more jobs in two years

Tract Bio, a Boston-based biotechnology company developing novel therapies for cancer and inflammatory diseases, has opened a new research laboratory in Charlotte with plans to grow.

The 4,000 square-foot leased lab is located at Connect Labs Charlotte in Atrium Health’s innovation district, The Pearl. The space includes four lab areas and three offices, where initially eight employees will work.

Tract Bio is recruiting for two additional positions and plans to add as many as 20 more over the next two years, a company spokesperson said.

"Our new lab marks a significant milestone in Tract's evolution and reflects our progress toward bringing potentially life-changing treatments to patients with cancer and inflammatory diseases," said Richard Russell, chief executive officer of Tract Bio. "We are excited to call The Pearl our research home as it connects us directly to leading scientific and clinical expertise within a vibrant and growing life science community, an ideal setting to accelerate our research programs, expand our team and advance our mission to transform care for areas of high unmet need."

Developed and managed by Wexford Science & Technology, LLC, Connect Labs by Wexford is a flexible, scale-in-place lab and innovation infrastructure for emerging and growth companies in the life sciences, computational, engineering and energy industries. 

Wexford operates 13 similar Connect Labs facilities in high-tech cities across the country, including Durham and Winston-Salem.

"We are thrilled to welcome Tract Bio to Connect Labs Charlotte and to The Pearl," said Craig Scharton, director of Connect Labs Charlotte. "Connect Labs by Wexford was purposefully designed to unlock the next generation of clinical and biomedical breakthroughs by bringing together advanced technology, medical expertise, world-class institutions and visionary biotech companies. The addition of Tract Bio exemplifies the pioneering spirit and collaborative energy that define this ecosystem."

In conjunction with Tract’s move to Connect Labs Charlotte, the company’s scientific co-founders, Frank McKeon, Ph.D., and Wa Xian, Ph.D., have joined the faculty at Wake Forest University School of Medicine as professors of cancer biology. The school's Charlotte campus, located within The Pearl, is the city's first four-year medical school.

McKeon and Xian are pioneers in stem cell biology and disease pathogenesis of epithelial tissue. Previously, they were research partners at the Genome Institute of Singapore and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Farmington, Conn.

Using a proprietary epithelial stem cell cloning platform, stemECHO, Tract Bio has identified a line of drugs that selectively target pathogenic stem cells in inflammatory airway and intestinal diseases and certain forms of cancer. The drugs are intended to treat chronic myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia, esophageal adenocarcinoma, and lung, pancreatic, ovarian and gastric cancer, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and Crohn's disease.

Tract Bio’s lead drug candidate is TP-101, a novel drug combination that targets disease-associated stem cells in solid tumors, including ovarian and breast cancer. The company plans to begin studies of TP-101 for gastric cancer that would support an Investigational New Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

To oversee that work, Tract Bio, in July, hired Chris Galloway, M.D., as chief medical and development officer. Galloway has extensive experience in leadership, clinical development, medical affairs and business development at other biotech companies. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Tract Bio was founded in 2021 and has 15 employees.