South San Francisco biotech to set up lab in Boston

Frontier Medicines, a South San Francisco biotech working on potential cancer treatments, is the latest life sciences firm that plans to set up shop in Boston’s bustling Seaport District.

The startup said this week that it is establishing a research lab and offices in 18,000 square feet in a building on D Street. It’ll be the company’s first office in Boston and will house about 60 employees. Frontier disclosed the plans while announcing it had raised $88.5 million in venture capital to advance its pipeline of cancer drugs. Frontier is developing medicines for several forms of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal carcinoma and a form of pancreatic cancer.

The Boston neighborhood has become a magnet for US and foreign life science companies in recent years, including Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Servier Pharmaceuticals and Ginkgo Bioworks.