New bio R&D facility to anchor the company’s regional presence.

Building on a 15-year history in the state, Pfizer, Inc., announced June 27^th it broke ground on a new research and development (R&D) and process development facility near St. Louis in Chesterfield, Missouri. Part of Pfizer’s global R&D network, the new campus is intended to consolidate the company’s BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences group operations and bring together the more than 450 employees currently located at multiple sites in the St. Louis area.

Pfizer said construction will be complete by mid-2019 and that it expects to hire “an additional 80 employees” to support research at the site when it begins operations. Designed for collaboration, the facility is set to provide approximately 295,000 sq. ft of R&D space to support Pfizer’s BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences group — the team that, according to the company, will work towards “advancing Pfizer’s biologics, vaccines, and gene therapy portfolio.” The group, said Pfizer, is responsible for “developing manufacturing processes and dosage forms, applying analytical technologies and conducting non-GMP manufacturing and scale-up studies.”

Missouri officials expressed their support for Pfizer’s plans at the ground-breaking ceremony. Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, acknowledging the new facility’s potential to create jobs noted, "This is an important project that will create good-paying jobs for Missourians. We're proud that Pfizer is investing and growing in Missouri." Local officials also see the new facility as a vote of confidence in their region’s infrastructure and labor force — St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger noted the following. “It makes sense an innovative company like Pfizer—that is at the forefront of its industry — recognizes the advantages of expanding in St. Louis County. I think that is a testament to our business-friendly climate and the quality of our workforce in St. Louis County. Our workers are well-educated and tech-savvy. They are ready to do the important work that will be done here to save lives around the world,” he commented.

John Ludwig, Sr. Vice President of Pfizer’s BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences group similarly emphasized the region’s role in locating the new facility. “We’ve been proud to call Missouri home since 2002,” he continued. “During this time, we’ve benefitted from the excellent life sciences workforce based in Missouri, and also from a strong partnership with the State, St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. All of these were important factors as we sought a new home where we could continue to evolve our business over the coming years.”

Characterized as “state-of-the-art,” the new campus will feature flexible laboratory layouts and cGMP spaces that Pfizer said will support scientific casework and collaboration. This work, said the company, is critical and enables the development of “potential new medicines to treat ailments in oncology, rare disease, internal medicine, inflammation & immunology, and vaccines, including biosimilars.”