GSK may be moving some work from Puerto Rico, but the island's prominence among pharmaceutical companies shows no sign of waning. New-York-based pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is finding quasi-U.S. territories to its liking for facility expansion, to the tune of a $200-million expansion in Manati, Puerto Rico.
   Expected to be complete in 2009, the expansion, announced in April 2006, will add 100,000 sq. ft. (9,290 sq. m.) and renovate 30,000 sq. ft. (2,787 sq. m.) for the filling and finishing of the company's sterile products and biologic compounds, including ORENCIA and Coumadin.
   "Our manufacturing strategy involves a combination of expanding our own internal biologic production capacity, coupled with strategic partnerships with third party suppliers," said Carlo de Notaristefani, president, Technical Operations, Bristol-Myers Squibb.
   The manufacturing strategy of the territories, meanwhile, is focused on retention more than attraction.
   "Because of the consolidation we were talking about, in pharma I think that's true in spades," says Peter Brooks. "Large states with a lot of pharma like New Jersey, Michigan and California are spending a great deal of time to retain the folks they have. The most active because they have the most at stake may be Michigan.
   Especially given the automotive ills besetting Lansing, the recently announced $75-million investment there by anthrax vaccine maker BioPort Corp. was all the sweeter. The project, which Lansing won over a site in Maryland, will retain 322 direct jobs, and be supported by a state Single Business Tax credit valued at more than $6.3 million over 10 years and possible tax abatements from the city of Lansing valued at more than $9 million for up to 15 years. That helped convince BioPort to expand in Michigan.
   One retention lure sparking major action is educational partnering. Proof positive is in the middle of Kansas.
   Headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., north of Chicago, Hospira, spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2004, has approximately 13,000 employees and 14 manufacturing facilities worldwide. One of the most significant of those manufacturing sites is in McPherson, Kan., where a quick pair of expansion announcements in 2005 and early 2006 are resulting in $110 million in total investment, 120,000 sq. ft. (11,148 sq. m.) of space and approximately 100 new jobs by 2008, bringing the total payroll to 840.
   The McPherson plant opened in 1977 and was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 1997. According to the Conway Data New Plant database, Abbott previously invested $50 million in a 200-employee expansion in 2002.
   "This project underscores the strategic importance of McPherson to Hospira's overall business objectives," said Bill Gately, plant manager, McPherson Operations, Hospira, at the latest expansion announcement in February 2006.
   The growth will allow for expanded manufacturing capacity for existing generic injectable pharmaceuticals and make room for additional products to be manufactured at the plant in the future, including production being transferred from Hospira's North Chicago, Ill., facility.
   A unique attribute of the expansion is its partnership with both the Kansas Dept. of Commerce and the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA), which is creating a scholars program at the plant that will support internships for students who attend Kansas Regents universities.
   Additionally, the KBA will offer signing bonuses and student loan reduction packages for recent graduates of Kansas higher-education science programs who commit to a minimum of two years of full-time employment at the McPherson facility.