Fri, 8 Jun 2012

Pharma firm Astellas is to add 150 new high tech jobs as part of an expansion of its corporate headquarters for the Americas region in Glenview, Illinois, according to industry news service Healthcare Packaging.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, speaking at an event hosted by the firm announcing the $140m (£90m) investment, says: “Illinois has some of the best research and intellectual capital in the world, and these assets help us attract and support the growth of high-potential companies like Astellas in Illinois.”

Masao Yoshida, president of Astellas in the US says the expansion plans “are a result of that collaboration and our confidence that Illinois is a good place to do business.”

Quinn had previously met with the company’s leaders in Asia last year to discuss the plans. The state of Illinois also provided a package of around $4m in tax credits and job training funds to aid the investment, the website notes.

The biopharmaceutical industry employs and supports over 150,000 jobs in Illinois – equivalent to well over one in 100 of the state’s 12.9m population.