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For Immediate Release
April 6, 2005
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More than 500
scientists, engineers and support staff will call Philip
Morris USA’s
planned $300 million research and technology center home. |
Virginia BioTechnology Research Park announces new $300
million
Philip Morris project
Richmond, VA – The Virginia BioTechnology
Research Park announced yesterday that Philip Morris USA
will begin construction on a new $300 million research and
technology center in the Park’s downtown campus.
“This is a tremendous development for the greater
Richmond region and the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park,” said
Robert T. Skunda, president and CEO of the Park. “The
new research center will help us further develop the critical
mass that is necessary when growing and attracting the life
sciences industry, and shows that we have truly become the ‘New
East Coast Center for Biosciences’.”
The new facility will be Philip Morris USA’s largest
capital project since the 1980s, and will be the single-largest
private-capital investment in Richmond’s history. The
main research complex will be on a site bounded by 5th and
7th streets just north of the Richmond Coliseum. Overall
the facility will encompass about 450,000 square feet, nearly
doubling the company’s research space, and be home
to more than 500 scientists, engineers and support staff.
The center will be the newest addition to the BioTechnology
Park, which already houses more than 50 life sciences companies
in eight buildings, filling more than 575,000 square feet
of space and employing more than 1,350 scientists, researchers,
engineers and technicians in fields that include drug development,
medical diagnostics, biomedical engineering, forensics and
environmental analysis.
“
We’re proud to call Richmond home and this announcement
is a great example of that pride. Downtown Richmond’s
transformation continues to gain momentum and we hope this
announcement will encourage other companies to think about
how they can play a role,” said John R. Nelson, Philip
Morris USA’s president of Operations and Technology.
Over the past decade, Philip Morris USA has dedicated significant
resources toward scientific research, new product development
and commercialization that might help address the harm caused
by smoking. The Research and Technology Center will enhance
this commitment.
“Innovation has helped Philip Morris USA become
and remain the leading cigarette manufacturer,” said Nelson. “This
is the next step in that effort, allowing us to develop new
technologies that improve the products we currently manufacture
and may lead to innovative new products.”
Construction of the new research complex will begin this
month, and is expected to be complete by 2007.
For more information about Philip Morris USA’s products
and positions on tobacco-related issues, please visit the
Philip Morris USA Web site at www.philipmorrisusa.com.
For more information on the Virginia BioTechnology Research
Park, please visit their Web site at www.vabiotech.com.
Contact:
Nicky Colomb
Virginia BioTechnology Research Park
Phone: (804) 828-6884
E-mail: ncolomb@vabiotech.com
Web site: http://www.vabiotech.com
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