Bucking the Downsizing Trend: Novartis to Expand Cambridge Operations and Add Several Hundred New Jobs
Unlike most of its competitors, which are downsizing operations, the Swiss drug maker Novartis yesterday announced plans to double the size of a planned office and laboratory complex in Cambridge, MA. A company spokesperson said that the expansion which will cost $600 million was part of a plan to bolster Novartis’ research operations and strengthen partnerships with local universities and biotechnology start ups.
Novartis, Cambridge, MA largest corporate employer, expects to hire an additional 200 to 300 employs over the next five years increasing the size of its workforce in the city to 2,300.
Cambridge has become a something of a Mecca to pharmaceutical companies looking to tap into scientific information and intellectual property at Harvard and MIT and forging alliances or partnerships with early-stage biotechnology companies. In addition to the Novartis Research Institute, other companies in and around Cambridge include Sanofi-Aventis—which, last summer, unveiled a $65 million expansion in Cambridgeport that will house a new cancer research division and create 300 new jobs—AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Shire and Pfizer.
In addition to its plan to expand operations and R&D capability in Cambridge, Novartis has agreed to build a $1.0 billion complex of offices and laboratories in Shanghai, China. Novartis like most other big pharma companies is trying to leverage scientific information and talent anywhere in the world to bolster their rapidly dwindling drug pipelines.
The upside of Novartis’ Cambridge project is that it will help to create new construction, support and additional pharmaceutical jobs and help the city weather ongoing recessionary times. Who knows; maybe this is a sign that the US economy is growing and good times may be just around the corner!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (I highly recommend Cambridge MA)
