Covance readies new research center in Arizona

Covance has won final approval to open up a new, $100 million animal research center in Arizona. When it's fully operational, Covance says the research facility will employ up to 500 people. So far 80 people have been hired to work at the site in Chandler, AZ.

The CRO says it will move thousands of pieces of equipment into the facility in coming weeks as it prepares to start research operations in the springtime. Staff at the center will test new drugs on mice, rats, dogs and monkeys--work that has already drawn the attention of animal rights protesters.

For Covance, one of the world's biggest CROs, the Arizona expansion enables the company to broaden its contacts among developers. For Arizona, the facility offers a chance to highlight its interest in expanding biotech work in the state.

"What Covance really does is it gives us our first really big serious play on the bioindustry side of the biotech world," Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, told the Arizona Republic.

- read the story from the Arizona Republic

ALSO: A new $25 million clinical research building broke ground in Baton Rouge. Officials say the facility will employ 300 people. Report

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