Insmed has officially opened a new $10M, 17,000-square-foot research and development (R&D) facility on the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK, with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visiting the site to mark the occasion.

The new site strengthens Insmed’s presence in the UK and will serve as a central hub for the company’s work in synthetic rescue – a platform that aims to restore cellular function by identifying genetic targets outside disrupted biological pathways.

The Princess Royal was welcomed by Will Lewis, chair and CEO of Insmed, who accompanied her on a tour of the laboratory and introduced her to some of the company’s research staff.

“We are immensely proud to show The Princess Royal around our research site,” said Lewis. “The work we are doing in Cambridge is central to our research and development at Insmed and has the potential to deliver much-needed therapies for patients with serious diseases globally.”

The Cambridge R&D facility brings together scientists working across target discovery, drug discovery and translational science, with a focus on collaboration across disciplines under one roof. The site will also coordinate closely with Insmed’s research hubs in New Jersey, New Hampshire and San Diego in the USA.

Dr Tom Heightman, senior vice president of research at Insmed, said: “We are at a pivotal moment where new insights into the biology and genetics of serious diseases are opening new possibilities to identify and develop impactful treatments for conditions that still have few or no effective options.

“Our work in synthetic rescue was developed in Cambridge and the opening of this site marks an exciting new chapter in our relationship with this region and across the broader life sciences industry here in the UK.”

The synthetic rescue platform at Insmed combines molecular and cell biology with advanced analysis of human genetic datasets. The company believes this approach may offer a scalable method to develop treatments for diseases where damaged cells might recover if specific compensatory pathways are modulated.

The site is expected to contribute to the UK’s standing as a global centre for biotechnology innovation and drug discovery.