Pfizer moves employees to San Francisco

In a major coup for San Francisco, Pfizer is moving 100 employees--along with the headquarters of its Biotherapeutics and Bioinnovation center--to the city's Mission Bay biotech development. On Friday Pfizer reportedly signed a long-term lease for space in a planned office/laboratory complex, which it plans to move into by 2010.

In a statement, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said, "Pfizer's decision to locate their Biotherapeutics and Bioinnovation Center in Mission Bay is a significant win for San Francisco and is a clear indication that Mission Bay is one of the nation's premier life science centers. San Francisco offers companies like Pfizer a world-class urban innovation district, anchored by the nation's preeminent biomedical university and unparalleled opportunities for collaboration and access to the very best talent that the United States and the world have to offer."

The move is part of Pfizer's ongoing plan to pursue partnerships with small developers while at the same time fostering internal development of its own biotech drug candidates. Corey Goodman, co-founder of Exelixis and Renovis, is heading up the whole thing.

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