#b#Contracts Awarded#/b#
Mathematica Policy Research Inc., 600 Alexander Park, Suite 100, Princeton 08540; 609-799-3535; fax, 609-799-0005. Paul Decker, president. www.mathematica-mpr.com
Mathematica, a public policy research and survey firm, has received an $8.1 million contract from the U.S. Department of Education for a teacher quality distribution and measurement study.
#b#Expansions#/b#
Novo Nordisk Inc. (NVO), 100 College Road West, Princeton 08540-6213; 609-987-5800; fax, 609-919-7801. Jerzy Gruhn, president. www.novonordisk-us.com
Novo Nordisk, a developer of diabetes treatments based on College Road West, recently announced that it will spend $73 million to expand its Clayton, North Carolina, manufacturing facility and increase production capacity there.
The expansion is expected to create 205 new jobs, including 85 in Clayton, where there are about 420 employees now.
#b#Financing#/b#
Edison Venture Fund, 1009 Lenox Drive, Building 4, Suite 200, Lawrenceville 08648; 609-896-1900; fax, 609-896-0066. John H. Martinson, managing partner. www.edisonventure.com
Edison Ventures recently invested $11.5 million in two information-related companies.
Edison has invested $4 million in Premier Healthcare Exchange, a late-stage healthcare cost management company based in Bedminster. The investment will be used to expand sales, marketing, and shareholder liquidity, according to Edison.
The firm also has invested $7.5 million in Andera, a Rhode Island-based provider of customer acquisition solutions to 425 financial institutions nationwide. The investment is intended to help it develop a technology that allows financial customers to open online accounts in only a few minutes time.
#b#New in Town#/b#
Alfredo R. Trevino Architect, 690 Lawrenceville Road, Unit 5, Lawrenceville 08648; 609-883-0806; fax, 609-671-0909.
Architect Alfredo Trevino has opened an office on Lawrenceville Road. He provides commercial and residential services.
Cho Law Offices LLC, 3490 Route 1 North, Suite 7-B, Princeton 08540-; 609-642-4488; fax, 609-613-5611. www.jcholaw.com
Attorney Jae Cho has opened a law practice at 3490 Route 1. The firm specializes in entrepreneurs and small businesses.
#b#Stock News#/b#
Laureate Pharma LLP (SFE), 201 College Road East, Princeton 08540; 609-919-3300; fax, 609-452-7211. www.laureatepharma.com
Laureate Pharma, a contract manufacturer of protein-based biologicals and antibodies, has secured $20 million in debt and equity financing to enhance and grow its business.
According to the company, the funds will be used to drive five investment initiatives over a three-year period: upgrading aseptic products, upgrading protein production services, launching a contract analytical testing business to serve a broader client base, expanding mammalian cell line creation services, and adopting new quality systems technologies for inventory, deviations, and calibration and validation.
Laureate Pharma has added 10 new jobs since bringing on a new CEO, Michael Griffith, and a new vice president of business development. The company plans to fill 50 more positions as an outcrop of the funds.
#b#Crosstown Moves#/b#
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., 100 Overlook Center, Princeton 08540; 609-730-3840; fax, 609-730-3843. Anthony De Lucia III, certified financial planner. www.ampf.com
Ameriprise, a national chain of financial planning firms, has opened a location in Pennington.
The firm provides investment advice, retirement strategies, estate planning, and general financial advice to individuals and small businesses.
Association Associates Inc. (AAI), 1255 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road, Building B, Suite 514, Hamilton, 08619; 609-890-9207; fax, 609-581-8244. Debbie Hart, president. www.hq4u.com
Association Associates, a management organization presided over by Debbie Hart, has moved from AAA Drive to Whitehorse-Mercerville Road. AAI provides management services to trade and professional groups. According to Hart, AAI will expand into more than 6,500 square feet to provide more service area for clients and more room for its 30-person staff.
Hart helps manage several organizations through AAI, most notably BioNJ, one of the state’s largest science and technology lobby groups.
Automated Waste Equipment Co., 572 Whitehead Road, Hamilton 08619; 609-588-5400; fax, 609-588-4104. Debbie Lieggl, controller. www.americanrolloff.com
Automated Waste, a manufacturer of truck bodies for waste disposal fleets, has moved from 3 Tennis Court to Whitehead Road.
Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, 73 Route 31 North, Pennington 08543; 609-730-1900; fax, 609-730-1998. Joseph Renner, CEO. www.zydususa.com
Zydus Pharmaceuticals, which develops products for the generic market, has moved from the Carnegie Center to the former site of international porcelain figurine maker Goebel on Route 31 in Pennington. The building has been vacant since Goebel uprooted its American operations last year (its subsidiary, M.I. Hummell now operates from its offices on Quakerbridge Road in Hamilton). Zydus, which also has operations in Tennessee and India, makes generic versions of popular drugs such as Paxil, Flomax, and Zocor.
#b#Name Changes#/b#
Idis Pharma, 902 Carnegie Center, Suite 160, Princeton 08540; 609-436-4501; fax, 609-436-4600. Rose Taluba, office manager.
Idis Pharma, which provides management and communications consulting to pharma and biotech companies, has opened an office in the Carnegie Center. The company is based in the United Kingdom.
#b#Down-Sizing#/b#
Palatin Technologies Inc. (PTN), 4C Cedar Brook Drive, Cranbury 08512; 609-495-2200; fax, 609-495-2201. Carl Spana, president & CEO. www.palatin.com
For the third time since 2007, Palatin Technologies, which develops products for sexual dysfunction and appendicitis detection, is cutting its staff. The company announced on September 27 that it will cut half of its 40 workers by year’s end.
The announcement coincides with the release of the company’s latest financial statement, which reports a net loss of $4.2 million for the quarter ending on June 30. That is a loss of 40 cents per share of stock in the past fiscal year, as compared to a 2-cents-per share loss from the year prior.
The company’s troubles began in 2007 when safety concerns over a female sexual dysfunction drug caused partner King Pharmaceuticals to back out. Since then Palatin has laid off most of its staff. Two years ago, it had 60 employees, and before that about 90. The latest round of layoffs is expected to save the company about $5 million a year in operating expenses as it focuses on new drugs for sexual dysfunction and for asthma.
“Prioritizing our clinical programs and focusing on advancing our clinical drug candidates can generate the most value for our stockholders,” said CEO Carl Spana.
#b#Leaving Town#/b#
Publicis Selling Solutions (PUB), 1000 Floral Vale Boulevard, Suite 400, Yardley 19067; 215-525-9804. Rick Keefer, group president, COO. www.psellingsolutions.com
Science Oriented Solutions, Robin Winter-Sperry, president and CEO. www.scienceorientedsolutions.com
Publicis, which handles contract sales, telemarketing, peer influence, and other services to the pharmaceutical industry, and Science Oriented Solutions, a division of Publicis, have moved from 2000 Lenox Drive in Lawrenceville. Publicis now operates in Yardley.
#b#Deaths#/b#
Joseph Fath, 85, on October 10. A chemical industry executive, he was former president of the Jewish Center of Princeton.
Bud Drake, 80, on October 9. He was a former CIA agent and a chemist at Hydrocarbon Research Inc. in Trenton and FMC in Princeton. He held several patents on his work with synthetic lubricants.
Eleanor Howarth, 81, on October 6. She was a licensed insurance broker for Bozarth’s Insurance Co in Hamilton for 20 years.
Helen Carter, 84, on October 3. She once worked on the U.S. Space Program’s moon exploration and landing programs at RCA Astro.
Philip Reed, 86, on September 20. A former investment manager, he was a trustee at the Medical Center at Princeton and its foundation for 27 years. He also founded the Philip D. Reed Foundation.
