Christie, Guadango Hail Added NJ Job Growth

New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno recently hailed the pending creation of 200 jobs as she helped open Oncobiologics’ new headquarters in Cranbury.
“The opening of Oncobiologics’ new facility shows once again that New Jersey is becoming a great place in which to do business and it reconfirms our status as the ‘medicine chest’ of the world,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Oncobiologics could have gone anywhere in the world, but they decided to come to New Jersey. The groundbreaking work being done here will save lives and prolong life. We are honored to have Oncobiologics in New Jersey.”
Oncobiologics was founded by a group of leading scientists and engineers from top-tier global pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including Genentech, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bayer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Schering-Plough and Medarex. The company’s signature development is a one-stop proof-of-concept "engine" that will enable biologic drug developers to economically and efficiently develop more of their pre-clinical drug candidates. The company has raised start-up funding through grants, bank loans, and investments by listed companies and private equity investors.
"We are committed to advancing innovative and improved biotherapeutics to treat serious diseases, including cancer and immune disorders, by leveraging proprietary technologies and expert science and engineering,” said Oncobiologics Founder & CEO Pankaj Mohan. “Our leadership team represents some of the most respected professionals from the pharmaceutical industry who have joined Oncobiologics because of our collective commitment to improve the lives of patients around the world. The industry partnerships we have already created with organizations like the Fox Chase Cancer Center and two agreements totaling $80 million that we have just finalized this week will allow Oncobiologics to be an engine for product development in oncology and immunology.” The company says that from 20 to 40 jobs will be created immediately and that 200 jobs should be created by the end of next year.
After the ribbon-cutting, attendees toured the company’s just-opened 25,000-square-foot research and development facility, which includes state-of-the art laboratories.
“With more than 325 biotechnology companies operating in New Jersey, the biotechnology industry is becoming increasingly more important to the economic future of our state,” said Debbie Hart, President of BioNJ. “And as demonstrated by the opening of Oncobiologics here today, biotech in New Jersey continues to grow despite a tough economy and competition from other states and countries.”
Lt. Governor Guadagno, who oversees economic development in New Jersey, stressed that the Christie Administration has included an estimated $180 million worth of tax cuts and credits in the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to help businesses. Last Tuesday, the Lt. Governor joined Governor Chris Christie in announcing that Church & Dwight will build its new global headquarters in Ewing Township, further expanding their manufacturing and R&D footprint in the state. The Dwight & Church expansion secures the retention of 1,000 jobs, while also creating 130 new permanent positions and hundreds of construction jobs.
Like today’s the by Oncobiologics, Church & Dwight’s decision to stay and expand in New Jersey is a result of the Christie Administration’s pro-growth agenda and policies.