Eisai opens new research facility

Eisai has announced that its Eisai Research Institute research and development subsidiary has announced the opening of a new facility at its Andover, Massachusetts location.

The facility, costing $65 million (32.95 million pounds) and 150,000 sq ft in size, will merge the company’s basic research operations in drug discovery and provide an avenue for growth in the future.

It will be focused on using synthetic organic chemistry based on natural products and target-oriented biology for the identification and development of drug candidates.

Eisai Research Institute has contributed to Eisai’s drug development pipeline in the cancer and immunology sectors and is currently testing two compounds at phase III, the first as a treatment for cancer and the second for severe sepsis.

Michael Lewis, president of Eisai Research Institute, commented that the company was “delighted” at the opening of the new facility.

“We are confident that the environment we have created will actively promote the atmosphere of collaboration and teamwork that has been a critical source of Eisai’s cutting edge science.”

In November 2006, Eisai began construction on a pharmaceutical production and formulation facility for the research and development of intravenous cancer treatments at the Research Triangle Park site in North Carolina.