Companies Announce Job Openings in the Wake of Expansions - Some Cuts Were Made, Too
If you’re in the pharma or biotech industry and are looking for work, multiple companies have announced expansions of their employee pool over the past few days. BioSpace rounds up a few of the announcements.
Nuventra Pharma Sciences – In Durham, N.C., Nuventra Pharma Sciences expanded and redesigned its 15,000 square foot headquarters. As the company accommodated its growing pains, it said it has already hired 12 new employees this year and has plans to add more. Although Nuventra did not specify the number of employees it will add, the company said it has “substantial hiring plans for the remainder of the year.” Additionally, two other Nuventra locations are also expanding to accommodate growth. Nuventra’s second largest office in Exton, Penn. recently completed an office expansion and renovation. The Broomfield, Colo. office will move to a larger space that is expected to be completed in March, the company said.
HalioDx – A few hours up the road from Durham, HalioDx, a French biotechnology company, opened a laboratory in Richmond, Va. The $1 million facility is expected to bring about 20 jobs to the capital city. Virginia Business, which first reported the deal, noted that HalioDx, headquartered in Marseille, is a pioneer in the immunological diagnosis of cancers. The company develops in-vitro diagnostic products and services, particularly for colon cancer.
McKesson – In upstate New York, McKesson Corp. is planning for a $16 million investment in a new warehouse and distribution center. The new site would more than triple the space the company currently occupies in the town of Cheektowaga, The Buffalo News reported. If the project goes forward, it would add an additional 13 jobs over the next two years. There are currently 62 people working in the Cheektowaga facility, according to the report. The average salary of the new jobs would be $39,000, while the retained jobs pay $43,000 on average. However, the expansion in Cheektowaga is not guaranteed. McKesson is angling for more than $1 million in tax savings for new equipment. If it does not receive those breaks, the company could shift the expansion project to Indiana, The Buffalo News said.
Emerald Health Therapeutics – Continuing up the East Coast, in Quebec, cannabis-producing Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. launched a subsidiary known as Verdélite Sciences Inc. The company said it is nearing completion of its over $100 million investment to “secure and expand its multi-purpose facility to 88,000 square feet.” The facility will enable the complete cycle of indoor cultivation, product development and automated packaging of cannabis products, the company said. Upon reaching full production levels in mid-2019, Verdélite projects it will have created approximately 140 jobs.
VelocityTX – In Texas, incentive packages were approved to transform a former warehouse into VelocityTx’s new life sciences innovation center. According to the San Antonio Business Journal, the nonprofit group could move into the new complex later this year. According to the report, VelocityTX anticipates the renovated space to become an “anchor for a larger innovation district” in the city. As it grows, VelocityTX anticipates such a district could support up to 660 jobs.
Allogene Therapeutics – Since its launch last year, Allogene Therapeutics has been on a constant upward trajectory, including a successful initial public offering that secured $372 million for the company. On Wednesday, Allogene entered into a lease agreement to develop a 118,000 square foot cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, Calif. The space will assist the company with the manufacture of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCAR T) therapies to treat cancer. In its announcement, Allogene did not specify how many employees it might hire when the project is complete, but considering the groundwork the company has put together for its therapeutics since it launched last year, significant growth certainly appears to be the plan.
Bayer – In the midst of all the hiring announcements, Bayer has gone the opposite direction. The company is closing its customer logistics center in Mishawaka, Ind. That closure means 200 people will lose their jobs, according to reports. The closure, which was announced this week, will be conducted over the next 18 months.
