Eisai opens new $65M US facility

Japan, Tokyo-based drugmaker Eisai has opened a new facility at its site in Andover, Massachusetts. The 150,000 square foot, $65.0 million structure will consolidate the firm's basic discovery research operations and will be devoted to utilizing a combination of natural products-based synthetic organic chemistry and target-oriented biology. According to the firm, the facility is part of its fifth mid-term business program, the Dramatic Leap Plan, and the state-of-the-art laboratories and office space will provide increased opportunity for scientific discovery and compound selection. In addition to the site, Eisai has adjacent laboratories at Four Corporate Drive and a pilot plant facility across the highway representing a total of 250,000 square feet. Of 200 employees, more than 160 will be located in the new facility.