Pharmaceutical Firm
Opts to Build in Pa.

Pennsylvania's biotech standing received a huge lift late in 2002 when fast-growing Cephalon announced it would remain in the state and build its new corporate campus at a to-be-determined site in the southeastern region of the state. An international biopharmaceutical company currently headquartered in West Chester, the company primarily focuses product research and development in two areas: neurodegenerative disorders and oncological disorders.
        Cephalon, founded in 1987, plans to invest $100 million in its new campus that will create 650 jobs. The company has hired the Philadelphia office of Julien J. Studley to help with its site selection process, which it expects to complete sometime near the end of the first quarter of 2003. Cephalon, which currently employs 1,200 worldwide, is looking for a 100-acre (40.5-hectare) site for its campus that it expects to eventually grow to 1 million square feet (93,000 sq. m.). The state will provide a $12.75 million incentive package.

Wilkes-Barre is home to the new mail service pharmacy of AdvancePCS. Plans call for the operation to eventually employ 750.

        Continuing down Pennsylvania's pharmacy aisle, AdvancePCS, the nation's largest provider of health improvement services, has opened a 176,000-sq.-ft. (16,350-sq.-m.) mail service pharmacy in the Hanover Crossings Business Park near Wilkes-Barre. It has a capacity to fill 500,000 prescriptions per week and will eventually employ 750.
        Jon S. Halbert, AdvancePCS vice chairman, notes that Wilkes-Barre's proximity of colleges of pharmacy gives the company a recruiting advantage. The area's significant labor pool is another factor in the siting, he says.
        Another major Keystone State life sciences investment came in the form of an expansion by Aventis Pasteur of its Swiftwater facility, which produces about half the influenza vaccine used in the U.S.
        The company, which is the largest U.S. supplier of influenza vaccine, will spend $80 million to increase filling and formulation capacity. In 2002, the company shipped almost 44 million doses by the end of October.
        Askesis Development Group, a provider of behavioral-health and social-service technology, is moving its corporate headquarters from Chicago to Pittsburgh. The project will create nearly 150 jobs over the next three years. Askesis is transforming into a customer service and solutions company for behavioral-health providers and managed care.
        "Relocating to Pittsburgh is a significant step that will enable us to take advantage of proximity to one of the most advanced and cutting-edge health systems in the nation and place us in the midst of an actively growing and vibrant technology community," says Sharon Hicks, Askesis CEO.
        Former military bases are prime sites for economic redevelopment across the globe. The giant Philadelphia Naval Business Center, the facility formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Yard, recently added AppTec Laboratory Services. AppTec, based in Minneapolis, broke ground in January for a 75,000-sq.-ft. (6,970-sq.-m.) flex building to house offices, a warehouse, research and development, light manufacturing and laboratories.
        The $28-million project will create at least 200 jobs. AppTec provides laboratory and test services and light manufacturing to pharmaceutical firms. It expects to occupy its new facility in the fourth quarter of this year.