NJEDA Announces Plans For New GeneProt Corporate Headquarters And First Large-Scale Proteomics Discovery Center In The U.S.

09-Oct-2001

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) today announced that GeneProt, Inc. plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Evanston, ILL., and build the first large-scale proteomics discovery and production facility in the United States at The Technology Centre of New Jersey where it will also house the country’s largest commercial supercomputer. GeneProt chose the North Brunswick site because of its close proximity to current and prospective partners – mainly pharmaceutical companies – as well as its access to leading academic institutions within and beyond the Princeton corridor. The company expects the facility to be fully operational in early 2002. The supercomputer, together with GeneProt’s novel and proprietary technologies and methods, is intended to give the company its edge in providing therapeutic proteins, protein drug targets and protein biomarkers to pharmaceutical collaborators for testing well in advance of other proteomics organizations. The Technology Centre is owned and being developed by the NJEDA. GeneProt will occupy space in the newest 80,000-square-foot building, which is currently under construction. It will lease the full 60,000 square feet of available space in the section known as Tech III for its U.S. headquarters and another 3,200 square feet in the adjacent 20,000-square-foot Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies to meet additional research and development needs. GeneProt has the option of expanding further within the Technology Centre if the company grows as expected. The NJEDA broke ground for the new building in April with acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco, biotechnology businesses and other state and local officials. Certain GeneProt employees, such as project managers, human resource representatives and administrative personnel, have already begun to occupy temporary space at the Technology Centre. The company expects to eventually employ about 150 people at the site. About 400 people now work at the Technology Centre, and about 200,000 square feet of space are currently occupied. “The State of New Jersey has awarded GeneProt numerous incentives, including a generous construction allowance in excess of $6 million,” noted Cédric Loiret-Bernal, M.D., GeneProt’s Chief Executive Officer. “This greatly supports our speed-to-market strategy and allows us to apply resources elsewhere, for example, in recruitment and R&D.” The Technology Centre is very excited about adding yet another leading Life Sciences company to its roster. “We welcome GeneProt’s decision to locate in the Innovation Garden State and contribute to New Jersey’s high-tech business and job growth,” said Anthony R. Coscia, NJEDA chairman. “GeneProt recognized all the benefits the Technology Centre has to offer today’s leading high-technology biosciences companies.” “Our Technology Centre strategy is to bring new enterprises in our Commercialization Center together with more established technology companies to stimulate and cultivate technological research and discovery in a region that is already brimming with world-class academic institutions and research laboratories,” added Caren S. Franzini, NJEDA executive director. “GeneProt will significantly add to the concentration of brainpower at the Technology Centre and the commercialization of tested ideas.”

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/5251/njeda-announces-plans-for-new-geneprot-corporate-headquarters-and-first-large-scale-proteomics-discovery-center-in-the-u-s.html