Officials: AstraZeneca’s expansion no threat to CT
New Haven officials and biotechnology sector experts say AstraZeneca’s plan to expand its footprint in Massachusetts is not expected to affect the company’s Alexion Pharmaceuticals presence in Connecticut.
Alexion has about 500 employees at the company’s research and development center on College Street in New Haven. But officials at AstraZeneca announced last week the multinational pharmaceutical giant will build a new strategic research and development center, as well as Alexion’s new corporate headquarters, in the Kendall Square section of Cambridge, Mass.
The new Kendall Square facility will allow Alexion to consolidate about 1,500 workers from the company’s Waltham research and development facility and its headquarters in Boston’s Seaport District at one site. The new building is scheduled for completion in 2026.
Alexion, which was founded in New Haven, announced in September 2017 that it was relocating its headquarters to Boston and completed the move the following summer. Last year, AstraZenaca completed its acquisition of Alexion, which develops drugs to treat rare diseases.
Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer, said the new facility in Cambridge “will act as a catalyst for even more external collaboration and innovation.”
“Kendall Square, Cambridge, is at the heart of the life sciences and innovation hub of the greater Boston area, and our new site will put us right at the center of this space,” Soriot said in a statement. “The move will provide access to some of the most innovative partners in academia and biotech, offering opportunities to accelerate our growth and collaborate with like-minded organizations as we continue to push the boundaries of science to deliver advances for patients.”
Even as they were announcing the new Cambridge facility, AstraZenca officials reaffirmed their commitment to Connecticut. The company announced in April that Alexion would be taking space in a new biotech tower being built at 101 College St. in New Haven and hiring 50 new workers to bolster the company’s Connecticut workforce.
Mike Piscitelli, the city’s economic development administrator, said AstraZeneca has “firmly committed to Alexion’s base of research operations here in New Haven.”
“It is important to recognize the overall growth of the life sciences sector in recent years,” Piscitelli said. “New Haven ranked fourth nationally in venture capital funding per capita, a remarkable achievement and another indication of the meaningful scientific discovery happening locally.”
Paul Pescatello, senior counsel and executive director of CBIA’s Connecticut Bioscience Growth Council, said AstraZenca’s move to Cambridge makes sense on multiple levels.
“It’s about consolidating their Massachusetts facilities and anybody in the rare disease sector would want to have a presence in Cambridge,” Pescatello said. “But I think New Haven is the centerpiece of their rare disease work and so anything that enhances that work is beneficial.”
Ginny Kozlowski, chief executive officer of REX Development / Economic Development Corp. of New Haven, said AstraZeneca’s continued presence in Connecticut should be seen a positive.
“AstraZeneca is a large global company and their expansion, the upping of their commitment to New Haven and Connecticut is great, a real opportunity,” Kozlowski said.