Sanofi Will Lease 900,000 Square Feet At Cambridge Crossing

Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Monday it has signed a lease of two new buildings, totaling 900,000 square feet, at the Cambridge Crossing development in East Cambridge.

At that size, the French drug maker will occupy roughly one-fifth of Cambridge Crossing and almost half of the space devoted to science and technology in the mixed-use project. Another health care firm, Philips North America, will take a large chunk when it relocates its headquarters from Andover in 2020.

Cambridge Crossing spans 45 acres in Cambridge, Boston and Somerville.

Sanofi said its new buildings will open in 2021 and house about 2,700 workers.

The lease does not represent a workforce expansion by Sanofi but rather a move to bring many of its existing Massachusetts employees closer together. The company said it currently employs about 5,000 people in the state, scattered across 10 locations.

Sanofi cited an "ability to collaborate with key partners as well as attract and retain employees in an increasingly competitive field" among its reasons to lease space at Cambridge Crossing, which is close to biotechnology hub Kendall Square.

The company's Sanofi-Genzyme unit already leases space in Kendall Square.