Pfizer Plans New Stem Cell Lab

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is planning to create a regenerative medicine unit specializing in stem cell research in Cambridge, according to a company press release.

The unit will further Cambridge’s ongoing effort to maintain its status as a world-class hub of scientific research while stimulating the local economy and offering economic opportunities during the current financial crisis, proponents say.

“It seems like a natural progression that will add to the breadth and scope of biotech here in Cambridge,” Mayor E. Denise Simmons said of the project.

Simmons said the labs will benefit the city by attracting more people with highly specialized talents and employing many more. She said she will ask the company to reach out to Cambridge when looking for employees.

The new unit will be located in Cambridge, Mass., as well as Cambridge, England.

Between the two facilities, Pfizer plans to employ about 70 researchers.

With the new unit, Pfizer will contribute to local efforts in stem cell research, including work at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

According to City Councilman Sam Seidel, Pfizer’s expansion is part of a continuing effort to bring large research facilities into the city.

“We on City Council are very aware of the economic downturn overall,” Seidel said. “It is reassuring that companies on the cutting edge of technology are looking to us now.”

Cambridge’s initiative to attract research began in the 1980s with the redevelopment of the city’s buildings and roads. It continues today as city councillors reconsider zoning laws in East Cambridge in order to accommodate new research facilities.

“Cambridge has made a real effort to become a biotech capital of the world, and it has been successful in doing that,” Seidel said.

The city council is also considering the sale of 1.2 million square feet of land to Alexandria Real Estate for another new lab space, Seidel said.

Pfizer’s new lab will be an addition to the company’s Research Technology Center, founded locally in 1999. Its research will focus on endocrine and cardiac research. It’s counterpart in England will study neural and sensory disorders.

Of the cross-Atlantic centers, spokeswoman Kristen E. Neese said, “It is an opportunity to leverage our assets both in the UK and the US.”