Intrexon gets $115M in new Merck partnership

Germantown-based biotechnology company Intrexon Corp. will receive an upfront payment of $115 million in a new collaboration and licensing agreement with Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of German drug giant Merck.

Together, the companies will develop and commercialize cancer therapies that modulate the human body’s own immune system’s ability to fight tumors.

The research will focus on generically engineered T-cells with synthetic receptors that attack cancer cells. Research will…

Abdo Development's Logan Circle project and the Turkish Embassy's front yard hurdle

Welcome to this Monday edition of permits.

1400 14th St. NW: Sheeting and shorting and related excavation only for this Abdo Development project, which will include four levels of residences (30 units, including some micro units), 4,575 square feet of office on the second floor, and retail and restaurant space on the ground floor and in the cellar. The development will cover 1400-1404 14th. The raze permits for 1400 and 1402 14th were issued in February. The historically contributing building at…

Vacant Wynwood site sold for $15M

Jeronimo Hirschfeld’s One Real Estate Investment purchased a vacant site in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami for $15 million.

The 1.79-acre property at 2201 and 2245 North Miami Avenue traded for $192 per square foot, which is less than some other recent deals in the emerging artistic neighborhood. It was sold by 2245 North Miami Ave LLC and 2201 Wynwood LLC, both companies controlled by Felipe Yalale in Fort Lauderdale. The property last traded for $1.7 million in July 2013, following a foreclosure…

Dynegy gets final approval to move forward with $6.25B deal

After receiving final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Houston-based Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) plans to move forward with a multibillion-dollar asset acquisition.

Dynegy expects to move forward with the acquisitions of North Carolina-based Duke Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: DUK) Midwest commercial and retail business as well as Connecticut-based EquiPower Resources Corp. and Massachusetts-based Brayton Point Holdings LLC assets from New Jersey-based Energy Capital Partners.

Got Energy?…

Westchase apartment complex fetches more than $52 million

A Colorado investment company has paid $52.75 million for Viera at Westchase, an apartment complex on West Hillsborough Avenue.

Versus Capital closed on the property March 24, according to a Hillsborough County deed filed Friday. The seller, Nashville-based Covenant Capital Group, paid $39.25 million for the complex in early 2012.

The 390-unit Viera at Westchase, which includes a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse, was built in 1999. The sale breaks down to more than $135,000 per apartment — high for…