Alexion Pharmaceuticals will establish its global headquarters at a new facility to be built in New Haven by 2015, according to information from the state’s economic development department.
Alexion will relocate its existing Connecticut workforce of more than 350 employees to the facility once complete. The firm expects to create 200 to 300 new jobs in the state by 2017.
"Fast-growing companies like Alexion are true engines of economic growth," Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement. "They attract investments, spur production and jobs in other industries, and improve our overall economy. Their decision to grow here in our state is a major step forward in our larger strategy to establish Connecticut as a world-renowned life sciences hub."
With operations in more than 30 countries around the world, Alexion has chosen to locate its global headquarters in New Haven, along with the company’s U.S. research center and North America commercial operations.
Alexion was founded in 1992 as a small biopharmaceutical startup in New Haven’s Science Park. Outgrowing that location, the company moved its headquarters to Cheshire in 2000, where it has again outgrown its existing space.
Winstanley Enterprises is developing the $100 million laboratory and office building where Alexion will be the anchor tenant. The building will stand on a newly developed urban boulevard at 100 College St. This area, known as Downtown Crossing, will undergo significant improvements and will include an approximately 400,000 square-foot facility for office, laboratory, R&D, and retail, a 600 to 800 space parking garage, street-level retail shops and cafés along College Street and infrastructure improvements, according to a press release.
The state is supporting the project with up to $51 million in assistance through the First Five program, which is administered by the state’s economic development department.
The loan agreement includes forgiveness of $16 to $20 million based on the creation of 200 to 300 full-time jobs. It includes a $6 million grant for laboratory construction and equipment and urban and industrial sites reinvestment tax credits of up to $25 million.
