Expansion Management

Missouri is New Home to New Toronto Bioscience & Pharma Company

Nov. 22, 2013

This is the first expansion outside of Canada for Pharma Medica Research.

Missouri is welcoming another player to its already strong base of more than 4,000 bioscience, agribusiness and life science companies, as Pharma Medica Research, Inc. announced this week the opening of a new research facility.

Located in St. Charles, Mo. the $30.8 million project will add 326 new jobs in the next three years.

The St. Charles facility will be the company’s first expansion outside of Canada.

Part of the reason for expansion is to be “ better positioned to compete and succeed in a global economy,” explained Mohammed Bouhajib, vice president, Laboratory Operations, Pharma Medica Research Inc. “Here we have access to an experienced workforce and booming biotech and pharmaceutical industries.”

The company, headquartered in Toronto, is a contract research company that serves clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. It has completed over 3000 clinical trials and has been audited by the FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA), Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and ANVISA (Brazilian Regulatory Agency). It has helped to bring over 300 drugs to markets.

State progrmas have helped make Pharma Medica Research Inc.’s expansion to St. Charles possible through a strategic package of economic incentives, which the company can redeem if it meets the strict job creation and investment criteria.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko | Senior Editor

Focus: Workforce, Talent

Follow Me on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Bio: Adrienne Selko has written about many topics over the 17 years she has been with the publication and currently focuses on workforce development strategies. Previously Adrienne was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck? which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics and EHS Today.

Editorial mission statement: Manufacturing is the enviable position of creating products, processes and policies that solve the world’s problems. When the industry stepped up to manufacture what was necessary to combat the pandemic, it revealed its true nature. My goal is to showcase the sector’s ability to address a broad range of workforce issues including technology, training, diversity & inclusion, with a goal of enticing future generations to join this amazing sector.

Why I find manufacturing interesting: On my first day working for a company that made medical equipment such as MRIs, I toured the plant floor. On every wall was a photo of a person, mostly children. I asked my supervisor why this was the case and he said that the work we do at this company has saved these people’s lives. “We never forget how important our work is and everyone’s contribution to that.” From that moment on I was hooked on manufacturing.

I have talked with many people in this field who have transformed their own career development to assist others. For example, companies are hiring those with disabilities, those previously incarcerated and other talent pools that have been underutilized. I have talked with leaders who have brought out the best in their workforce, as well as employees doing their best work while doing good for the world.