R.I. loses to Mass. for Bristol-Myers drug plant
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Rhode Island yesterday lost the battle to attract a pharmaceutical giant, as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. announced plans to build a $660-million drug manufacturing plant in Devens, Mass. The Ocean State’s economic development officials and Governor Carcieri had spent months trying to convince Bristol-Myers to build the facility in the Quonset Business Park. The company, however, decided to pass on North Kingstown’s former Navy base for the biotech stronghold of Massachusetts and a former Army base northwest of Boston. The company was also considering sites in North Carolina and New York for the new plant. “Governor Carcieri is obviously disappointed that Bristol-Myers decided to move to Massachusetts,” said Jeff Neal, spokesman for Carcieri. The company’s chief executive officer, Peter Dolan, called Carcieri yesterday to break the news, said Neal. “But Governor Carcieri also thinks that the fact that Rhode Island was in the running shows how much progress we’ve made in this area. Ten years ago, it’s not clear that Rhode Island would have even been on Bristol-Myers’ radar screen. More : projo.com |