Hoechst subsidiary opens $45 million drug innovation facility

Bridgewater, NJ

Hoechst Marion Ruossel, the pharmaceutical company of Hoechst AG, has opened a $45 million drug innovation facility at its site in Bridgewater, NJ, doubling the location`s research capacity. The 150,000-square-foot building will accommodate 200 researchers dedicated to lead generation functions, including analytical and medicinal chemistry, automated chemical synthesis, biotechnology, automated screening and molecular modeling. Initially, functions housed in the drug innovation facility will support activities of the Bridgewater-based central nervous system, oncology and respiratory disease groups. Officials say the facility will help the company achieve at least two new chemical entity and drug approvals per year beginning in 1999 and reduce the time it takes to get novel medicines to market to six to nine years from the industry average of 10 to 15 years. — TGW