GOVERNOR PATRICK CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING OF PFIZER’S NEW R&D FACILITY ON SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF LIFE SCIENCES INITIATIVE
Pfizer moves into Kendall Square with new 280,000 sq. foot facility
CAMBRIDGE – Monday, June 16, 2014 – On the sixth anniversary of his signing into law the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, Governor Deval Patrick today joined Pfizer leadership, life sciences leaders and local and state officials to celebrate the grand opening of Pfizer’s new 280,000 square foot facility in Kendall square.
“It is fitting that on the sixth anniversary of the Life Sciences Initiative becoming law, we are here celebrating the continued growth of one of our leading Life Sciences companies,” said Governor Patrick. “I congratulate Pfizer on their expansion and look forward to their continued contributions to our thriving Life Sciences community.”
Led by Pfizer Group Vice President of BioTherapeutics R&D, José-Carlos Gutiérrez-Ramos, Ph.D, the new laboratory facilities, located in the heart of Kendall Square, are leased from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Pfizer scientists will work in state-of-the-art lab space on a range of clinical programs across several therapeutic areas, including inflammation, immunoscience, rare disease, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and neuroscience.
“Our innovation economy is fueling our recovery and is creating economic opportunity throughout the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki. “We congratulate Pfizer on its expansion and look forward to its continued growth and success here in Massachusetts.”
In addition to the new Cambridge R&D hub, Massachusetts is home to Pfizer’s research and manufacturing site in Andover and is the global headquarters for Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) in Boston. By establishing collaborations with institutions working on novel and cutting-edge research, CTI’s model is designed to build an innovative network for drug discovery, with the goal of bringing new, targeted therapies to patients quickly.
“Pfizer’s unified presence in Cambridge reinforces our 15-year commitment to Massachusetts’ Life Sciences community,” said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., President of Research and Development at Pfizer. “Our goal in Kendall Square is to nurture collaborative and innovative science that can translate into new therapies for patients. Our proximity to the scientific brain trust that exists in this area, with world-renowned academic, medical and research facilities opens endless possibilities to advance breakthrough therapies.”
Today marks the sixth anniversary of Governor Patrick signing the Life Sciences Initiative, a ten-year, $1 billion investment in the growth of the state’s life sciences sectors. Since then, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has invested or committed $535 million to fund translational research, company formation and growth, workforce development and infrastructure, leveraging an additional $1.5 billion from outside sources. These investments have helped Massachusetts emerge over the past six years as the undisputed global leader in life sciences.
"On behalf of the Center, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Pfizer on its expansion into Kendall Square,” said Susan Windham Bannister, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the MLSC. “Massachusetts has become a magnet for major investment by the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies, and we are excited that Pfizer sees strategic value in expanding here. Pfizer is an industry giant and adds enormously to our life sciences community in the Commonwealth.”
“The value of research and development such as Pfizer’s is seen in gorgeous graphic terms every day,” said Representative Marjorie C. Decker. “It is seen in the patients who survive and thrive beyond what would have been bleak expectations even a handful of years ago. Attracting excellent life sciences companies and watching them expand is a core commitment that we policy and lawmakers continue to hold dear in Cambridge and the Commonwealth. We salute the fruits of your labors, Pfizer.”
“I’m happy that a global biopharmaceutical leader like Pfizer continues to invest in the City of Cambridge,” said Representative Timothy J. Toomey. “Governor Patrick and Speaker DeLeo’s commitment to public investment in innovation has created a robust biotech industry in Massachusetts. I’m confident that Pfizer’s strong R&D organization will ensure that even more high skilled jobs will be created in Cambridge as well as lead to the development of critical new technologies and medicines that will benefit people worldwide.”
A March 2013 report by The Boston Foundation showed that the Patrick Administration’s investments in the life sciences sector are making a measurable impact on job creation and spurring economic growth across the Commonwealth. The report also encouraged continued funding of the Life Sciences Initiative. The research found that over the last 10 years the state’s life sciences cluster has created jobs in Massachusetts at a faster pace than any other industry sector in the Commonwealth, and since 2008, Massachusetts has overtaken all competitor states in the rate of life sciences job creation. The report also commended the MLSC for its administrative efficiency and sound judgment in its investments and applauded the Governor and the Legislature for their foresight in creating the Center.
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