Crop R&D firm Pairwise to establish its headquarters in Durham, N.C.

Pairwise recently announced it has selected Durham, N.C., as its headquarters and will lease space on the Golden Belt Campus in the heart of downtown. The move represents a commitment to growth in a region ripe with innovation and engagement in the agricultural technology industry.

"Pairwise is focused on improving produce and row crops to address consumer needs for affordable, healthy, convenient and sustainable food," said Pairwise CEO Dr. Tom Adams. "Our facilities in Durham, the talent we have recruited, and the close proximity to like-minded life science businesses and organizations will help us make this vision a reality. Establishing our headquarters in Durham will allow us to focus on research and development, as well as growing our business and becoming an active member in the local community."

"North Carolina is home to a diverse agriculture base that includes not only a wide range of crops, but emerging technologies in life sciences from agriculture to pharmaceuticals," said Pairwise Chief Business Officer Haven Baker. "Durham itself is home to a mix of education, science and art which makes it a great place to build a company. We're excited to establish our presence in a city, and state, that thrives on its diversity of growth opportunities."

The company was founded by Adams, Baker and leading academics J. Keith Joung, David Liu and Feng Zhang to leverage the natural diversity in agricultural crops in new ways to address global food and health challenges. The company is developing new genomic technologies it intends to make available to a wide array of food and agriculture companies spanning row and specialty crops, fruits and vegetables. Since announcing the company's formation in March 2018, its leadership has expanded to include:

- Ryan Rapp, Head of Product Discovery
- Aaron Hummel, Head of Genome Editing Technology
- Mike Mann, Head of Trait Development Pipeline
- Ian Miller, Vice President of Business Operations
- Heather Hudson, Head of Collaborations and Portfolio Management
- Jason Goode, Director of Business Development
- Amy Lewis, Head of Human Resources

The company currently has approximately 50 employees, and anticipates hiring an additional 30-40 employees throughout 2018 and 2019.

Pairwise has already engaged with The North Carolina Biotechnology Center as an important resource for establishing a collaborative network in the region.

The Golden Belt Campus is a 320,000 square-foot historic mill that once facilitated textile and tobacco operations and is the only remaining 1900s-era conversion opportunity of its kind in the area. With a 36,000-square-foot space in the newly renovated multi-building, mixed-use Golden Belt Campus, Pairwise will complement its presence in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) where it currently has 24,000 square feet of greenhouse and an additional 30,000 square feet of space for additional research and development.

In the spring of 2019, the research and development team and executives will move to the location downtown, while additional team members will remain in RTP at the plant growth and testing facilities.

"Pairwise is a forward-thinking company and an ideal tenant for the Golden Belt Campus," said Ed Kulik, the co-owner of LRC Properties which is a managing member of Golden Belt Campus. "We are excited to see how this new office and lab location will enable their company to further expand their research and continue to make breakthroughs in healthy and sustainable food production."

NAI Carolantic Realty brokers Robin Roseberry Anders, SIOR, and Jordan Williams, MBA, represent the Golden Belt Campus. Pairwise was represented by Don Shupe and Heath Chapman of CBRE in the lease negotiation.