December 29, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Crown Bioscience announced yesterday that it was launching a pharmaceutical research and development center at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana. The research center is an affiliate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Crown Bioscience is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif, with research campuses in China, the U.K., San Diego and Indianapolis. The new center will focus on development therapeutics for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The New Ibera Research Center specializes “in the management of nonhuman primates for applied and basic research.”
Crown Biosciences plans to invest $1 million and create 10 new direct jobs with an average annual wage of $70,000, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development projects the center will result in an additional 14 new indirect jobs.
“This project provides an excellent example of how Louisiana’s higher education system is leveraging its strengths to attract new investment in bioscience to our state,” said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, in a statement. “Sophisticated pharmaceutical research performed in a sensitive and progressive manner is essential for our state, nation and world to combat illnesses and diseases that continually pose new challenges. We’re proud that this important work will be taking place in our state and will build upon the resources of UL Lafayette and the New Iberia Research Center.”
Crown Biosciences indicates that the expansion will allow it to grow beyond its operational capacities in North Carolina. It plans to begin operating at the New Iberia Research Center in January, with continued growth in Louisiana in the near future.
Jean-Pierre Wery, chief executive officer of Crown Bioscience, indicated that Louisiana’s growing biomedical science community was one of the reasons for choosing to expand there. “It was important for us to be located at a facility with multiple research capabilities that could harmonize well with the various efficacy and model development studies conducted by CrownBio,” he said in a statement.
Although no financial specifics have been made public, CrownBio is utilizing Louisiana’s Quality Jobs Program, and local and state officials were involved in negotiating the lease at the research center. Involved were the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation, One Acadiana and LED.
“Crown BioScience is a respected, growing company whose cutting-edge programs in disease research are well-known, and we appreciate their decision to invest in Iberia Parish,” said Mike Tarantino, president and chief executive officer of the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation, in a statement. “The NIRC has long played an integral role in global medical research and development, and we are certain that this partnership will ultimately result in greater success for both Crown Bioscience and the NIRC, as well as Iberia Parish. This is yet another indication that Iberia Parish is open for business.”
Crown Bioscience describes itself as a translational technology company focused on precision medicine. It has several proprietary technology programs, including HuPrime, HuKemia, HuBase, HuMark, HuTrials, and HuSignature, which allows for rapid translation of a lead compound to a clinical candidate. In that respect, it falls into the category of a contract research organization (CRO).
Crown Bioscience is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown Bioscience International (TWSE: 6554). In July, it expanded its San Diego facility to create CrownBio’s U.S. Center of Excellence for Oncology.
