In April 2005, Pfizer opened a $35-million, 62,500 sq.-ft. (5,806-sq.-m.) clinical research unit in New Haven, Conn., that will employ 50 staff. The facility will undertake Phase 1 studies of new medicines in conjunction with nearby Yale University School of Medicine, a world leader in imaging technology. (See Site Selection's coverage of Yale's life sciences capabilities in our May 2004 issue.) It is the first Pfizer-constructed LEED-certified facility, and is part of the company's Groton/New London operations.
      The unit is the fourth of its kind owned and operated by Pfizer. Other units are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Brussels, Belgium; and Singapore.
      "The speed with which this facility was built is testimony to the power of strong partnership and to the climate for business and academic excellence that Connecticut and New Haven have so painstakingly built," said Hank McKinnell, Pfizer chairman and chief executive.
      The company followed that news with the May announcement of a $136.4-million plant in Strangnas, Sweden, for the production of human growth hormone and other biotech products. That facility is projected to be operational in 2009.
     

      Beginning with the leadership development program on Sunday, the expert speakers at the Fall 2005 Professional Forum in Corpus Christi will fulfill IAMC's bottom-line vision of "implementing the best strategies for success in corporate operations."
      In addition to the member expertise that lies at the heart of IAMC educational programming, guest speakers will include Alan Parisse, who will tell corporate real estate practitioners why "This is Your Time."
      Stephen M.R. Covey, CEO of CoveyLink Worldwide and the son of "7 Habits" author Stephen R. Covey, in a presentation entitled "Leading at the Speed of Trust, " will demonstrate how the level of trust in organizations and relationships always affects two quantifiable measures: speed and cost.
      Bodine Belasco will explore "Creating Results Through Personal and Organizational Mastery." And IAMC favorite Dr. Peter Richiutti, assistant dean at the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, will bring the Forum to an entertaining close with an economist's viewpoint in "Wall Street's Look at Real Estate and Changing Interest Rates: What Does it Mean to You?"