June 5, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Merz North America has officially opened its new headquarters, located in Raleigh, N.C., bringing 200 jobs to the Research Triangle area and raising its profile locally, with more than a third of its employees now based at the site.
Founded in 1908, Merz Pharma Group is a privately-owned company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany.
The company’s new 60,000 square foot headquarters at 6501 Six Forks Road brought 50 new positions with it, brining Merz’s total workforce to 900 employees across multiple states. The specialty pharmaceutical company develops products for neuroscience, dermatology and aesthetics. Local officials heralded the news as one more science coup for North Carolina.
“By centralizing their North American operations in Raleigh, Merz has reaffirmed their commitment to North Carolina and their belief that this is a great place to do business,“ said Governor Pat McCrory. “Merz is a family-owned company with a strong focus on growth and innovation, and North Carolina’s talented workforce and thriving business climate will help them to achieve even greater success.“
Last July, the company said it had chosen the area because of the highly educated and well-trained workforce and its proximity to leading research universities and facilities.
“For Merz, this move accelerates us toward our vision of becoming the world’s most admired, trusted and innovative aesthetics and neurotoxin company,” said Merz North America President and CEO Bill Humphries in a statment. “Our focus is on offering best-in-class customer service, bringing continued innovation to the marketplace and forging new partnerships.”
Merz’s said at the time it decided to base its operations around a Raleigh headquarters after it spend over a year working with outside consultants to find the best city nationwide to help it grow. It finally decided on Raleigh, saying it “offers Merz the best opportunity to achieve its vision.”
Raleigh has three Tier-One research universities and more than 42,800 biotech employees, with the highest concentration of doctorate degrees in the U.S. Just as importantly for Merz, Raleigh-Durham International Airport is considering adding a direct flight to Frankfurt, Germany, where Merz has its global headquarters.
“Our investment in Raleigh is a testament to the area’s talented workforce, business-friendly environment and high quality of life,” said Michael McMyne, Merz head of North American Operations and chief of staff.
“We look forward to partnering with the state, Wake County Economic Development, Raleigh Economic Development and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce to invest in workforce development and job creation, further strengthening the Raleigh business community.”
When Will Pfizer’s Breakup Happen?
Speculation that the revamping of Pfizer Inc. ’s internal business structure could happen as soon as this year has biotech wondering just when this Big Pharma company could see changes.
Last week an analyst with J.P. Morgan said he thinks there will be a much faster timeline than most of Wall Street had predicted for Pfizer’s stated mission to refocus its efforts on new medicines.
Pfizer initially announced in 2012 that it would be shedding units that were non-essential to that goal. It then promptly sold its nutrition silo to Nestle for $11.85 billion, which was rapidly accompanied by a public spin-off of its animal health business for $2.2 billion.
“While a Pfizer break-up would likely be a 2017 event, we see potential catalysts in 2015-2016,” said Chris Schott, an analyst at J.P. Morgan. “Three years of audited financial statements (2014-2016) are required before any part of Pfizer can be spun off, and we also see 2017 as an attractive time for action as investors see Pfizer’s innovative pipeline clearly contributing to growth and the established business having transitioned to a more stable profile.”
BioSpace wants to know what you think: Will Pfizer be a changed company by the end of 2015?
