Covance executive Wendel Barr may be a target of fierce opposition from animal rights groups, but he's being treated as a rock star in the Valley's economic development community.
Barr was showered with applause and good vibrations Tuesday morning at a get-together called Spotlight on Bioscience at the Wyndham Phoenix. The event was sponsored by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the Arizona BioIndustry Association and the Business Journal.
"Science and technology are going to be the key to the future of Arizona,"
said Barry Broome, GPEC's president and CEO. advertisement
"This Covance project ... has the potential for 2,000 jobs and is probably the largest bioscience project in the United States," said Broome, calling it "a major statement in the industry."
Covance, a global drug-testing company, has bought 50 acres in Chandler and plans to build a large facility near Chandler Municipal Airport.
The company, which has drawn intense local and national opposition by groups claiming Covance is secretive and abuses its lab animals, was lauded Tuesday at the bioscience panel for its potential to bring jobs and tax revenue, and as a potential catalyst to lure other bioscience companies to metro Phoenix.
The Chandler facility will be a $100 million project.
"It could be one of the pre-eminent drug development centers in the world,"
Barr said.
Covance customers visiting the facility means greater Phoenix will gain even more exposure, he said.
Other panel participants were Jeff Morhet, president and CEO of InNexus Biotechnology; Dan Wood, managing partner of Mesa Verde Venture Partners, and Jon McGarity, president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association. |
