PDA

View Full Version : Pfizer expanding in St. Louis...yet again!


Arch City
May 5, 2007, 6:09 AM
This new project is in addition to the $200-million plant under construction (http://urbanstlouis.com/urbanstl/viewtopic.php?t=3669) on the Pfizer-St. Louis campus. Pfizer seems very committed to St. Louis.

Pfizer adds $100 million to planned project in Chesterfield
By Rachel Melcer
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/06/2007

http://www.pbase.com/stlouis_314/image/78233794.jpg
Pfizer's Chesterfield Valley campus where a *new $200-million plant* (http://urbanstlouis.com/urbanstl/viewtopic.php?t=3669) , not pictured, is already under construction.

Pfizer Inc. plans to spend $100 million on research and pilot-plant facilities in Chesterfield, a sign of the site's growing importance in the drug giant's global strategy.

The project comes in addition to a $200 million research building that should be completed near the end of next year, said spokesman Ed Bryant.

Together, the bricks and mortar enhance Pfizer's ability to develop pills as well as cutting-edge biologic drugs, protein-based therapies that must be injected or inhaled.

Pfizer is under pressure to replenish its product pipeline while dealing with revenue lost as billion-dollar blockbuster drugs lose patent protection and face low-cost generic competitors.

That's where the Chesterfield site comes in. It is Pfizer's Center of Emphasis for Global Biologics, which is at the heart of the company's efforts to develop lucrative medicines that under current U.S. regulations can't be copied by generic manufacturers.

Pfizer has set a goal of having 20 percent of its research-and-development pipeline comprised of biologic drugs in the next two to three years.

The largest part of the $100 million project is expanding by 50 percent the capacity of a government-certified biologics pilot plant, Bryant said. It is the only such facility owned by Pfizer, and is used to produce small quantities of biologic drugs needed for clinical trials.

Bryant would not disclose specifics on the rest of the expenditure, but said it all will contribute to research efforts.

The capital project will bring together Pfizer's top experts in developing and synthesizing biologics, which is a complex process requiring expensive and specialized equipment.

Pfizer will leverage its expertise to pursue biologics in a variety of therapeutic areas, moving beyond the typical targets for these drugs that include cancer, diabetes and hormonal disorders, Bryant said. And all of these projects will be touched in Chesterfield.

"This center is focused to be able to work with other Pfizer sites" around the globe, he said.

The investment comes at a tough time for Pfizer, which has been cutting jobs and closing facilities as part of an effort announced in 2005 to trim $4 billion from annual costs by next year.

Source (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/52E8975629069F9E862572D2000440E7?OpenDocument)