Biotrial, a privately owned contract research organisation based in France and specialising in early-development services, is setting up North American headquarters in the US city of Newark, New Jersey.
Architecture firm Francis Cauffman said the city had approved its design for Biotrial’s facility in Newark’s University Heights Science Park. The building programme for Phase I of the project, which will be a five-story, 70,000 sq ft construction, should get underway in spring 2013. Biotrial is expected to move into its North American base in early 2014.
Biotrial’s new offices will establish 100 permanent jobs and provide 150-200 construction jobs in Newark, Francis Cauffman noted. The University Heights district is part of Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s urban redevelopment initiative, and Biotrial will join other biomedical organisations as well as five universities in the Science Park.
Local partnerships
As Booker pointed out, Biotrial will benefit from close proximity to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The company has been establishing relationships with local medical and academic institutions in the Science Park over the last year. And it is currently forging a “strong partnership” with The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
“Biotrial has a long history of close and efficient collaboration with well-established neighboring institutions and views these alliances as essential elements to the community,” said president and chief executive officer Jean-Marc Gandon.
“In addition, we look forward to having our own building, designed specifically for our needs, in order to anchor our presence in Newark for years to come.”
Founded by Gandon in 1989, Biotrail has corporate headquarters and a Phase I unit in Rennes, France, as well as further locations in Paris, the UK and Belgium.
