GOV. EASLEY ANNOUNCES 59 JOBS IN DURHAM COUNTY
$150,000 One North Carolina Fund Grant Helps Eisai Inc. Expand

RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Eisai Inc., a U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyobased Eisai Co., Ltd., will expand its Research Triangle Park facility, creating 59 new jobs and investing $90 million over the next three years. The company plans to add an additional 25 jobs by 2011. The announcement was made possible in part by a $150,000 One North Carolina Fund grant.

"Eisai’s expansion is a strong addition to the thriving pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in North Carolina," said Easley. "We will continue to make smart investments in education, infrastructure and workforce development to ensure that these industries continue to grow and our state can remain highly competitive in the global economy."

Eisai Inc. is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey and maintains its only U.S. pharmaceutical production and formulation research and development operations in Research Triangle Park. The new jobs will include quality control analysts, manufacturing and packaging operators, chemists, engineers and technicians. While wages will vary by job function, the expected average weekly wage of the new jobs is $1,650 plus benefits, which is significantly higher than the Durham County average weekly wage of $659, plus benefits.

"We are excited to expand our operations in RTP, where our high compliance standards will be instrumental for regulatory approvals and production of our first anticipated oncology product," said Lou Arp, vice president of production operations at Eisai Inc. "Constructing the new facility at our current location allows for seamless integration between our production and research and development departments as well as access to North Carolina’s strong talent pool."

The One North Carolina Fund assists the state in industry recruitment and expansion by providing financial assistance through local governments to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. One North Carolina Fund grants require and are contingent upon a local match. Through the use of this Fund, more than 18,000 jobs and $2.5 billion in investment have been created since 2001.

Other partners who helped make this announcement possible include the N.C. Department of Commerce, Durham County and Durham Technical Community College. For more information about the company and employment opportunities, please visit www.eisai.com.