Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will establish a Global R&D Technology Center in North Brunswick, NJ. The company has a leased a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Technology Centre, a 50-acre complex consisting of lab, production and office space.

Watson initially plans to invest approximately $4.5 million outfitting the new facility.
Approximately 19,000 sq.-ft. will be set up for product development and analytical laboratories and the remaining 13,000 sq.-ft. will accommodate future expansion. The facility is expected to be completed in the spring of 2012 and will employ approximately 50 scientists, chemists, engineers and support staff.

Paul Bisaro, president and chief executive officer of Watson said, “The location of the new Global R&D Technology Center will enable Watson to leverage our proximity to such educational centers of excellence as Rutgers University. This will enable Watson to establish collaborations with University departments including pharmaceutics, chemistry and engineering and permit us to benefit from the talent pool in the heart of the pharmaceutical industry of New Jersey.

“This new center will become Watson’s state-of-the-art facility for developing generic pharmaceutical products, in particular for inhalation technology and respiratory products, with the ability to conduct formulation development and analytical testing. In addition, this center will focus on process analytical technology, packaging development, pharmaceutical technology, inhalation technology and new technology evaluation,” Mr. Bisaro continued.