Roche Picks New East Coast Hub

Just months after announcing the closure of its Nutley, N.J., R&D labs, Roche says it is opening a Translational Clinical Research Center in New York City. The company says it considered other sites in New Jersey and New York, but chose lab space in the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences for its proximity to academic medical centers and other stakeholders. The translational center, with a staff of roughly 240, will represent a significantly smaller East Coast footprint than the Nutley site, the closure of which cost 1,000 people their jobs. The Alexandria center already houses Pfizer and ImClone, Eli Lilly & Co.’s oncology drug arm. Roche has signed an 11-year lease in the building.