Supporters of a drug-testing laboratory planned in south Chandler got together Friday to tout the benefits of the biotech industry.
"You are building the future," said James Greenwood, a former congressman and now president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, appearing before more than 300 guests at an invitationonly biotech symposium in Chandler.
The event was put on by Arizona Citizens for Research and Employment, a local group formed to support Covance's plans in Chandler.
Greenwood said Arizona is doing everything it should to attract biotech industry - including welcoming global drug-tester Covance into south Chandler. The contract laboratory company plans to build a facility near Queen Creek and Gilbert roads, in the city's airpark.
Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn told the audience Covance has the City Council's "unanimous support."
But national animal rights groups and some local residents have come out fiercely against the company's plans to expand in Chandler. They object to the company's use and treatment of animals in laboratory tests and claim Covance will pollute the air and local water supplies.
But Greenwood called opponents, such as Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, "ignorant" and said the group "just doesn't get it."
"We envision a world free of disease, free of hunger and free of pollution," Greenwood said of the biotech industry, which in addition to medical research, includes some alternative fuel and agricultural research.
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