The North Carolina-based contract research organisation (CRO) was given a state Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) to incentivise and aid it in its local expansion endeavours.
Following the windfall, INC has now revealed a four-year plan to create1,093 jobs and investment $19.2m into the business to bolster its management, clinical research, data and information technology, and administrative support functions.
"Specifically related to the JDIG grant, jobs will be created in North Carolina, but we are recruiting globally," a company spokesperson told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
Under the specific terms of the grant program, INC Research must meet annual performance targets to receive annual payments, which will continue for up to nine years. The annual amounts continue to increase for the first four years; then they remain constant for the remainder of years, the spokesperson confirmed, without disclosing any further details.
INC has been going through a period of expansion over the past year, moving into new US headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, and purchasing two CROs in Philadelphia, in September 2006 and April 2007.
In addition, the firm recently opened a new office in Zurich, Switzerland, stating that the new site will "serve as an additional base of clinical operations in Europe and allow for substantial future expansion in the region going forward," and has also opened new offices in France, Russia and the Ukraine.
In other related clinical news, it has been revealed that two CROs will set up new activities in South Florida, finally partially filling a gap that was left in the area back in 2006 when large firm Pharmanet (SFBC at the time) pulled out of the area and relocated to Canada, after it became plagued by government and media scrutiny when allegations were made over inadequate clinical trial patient recruitment and informed consent practices at its 350-bed facility in Miami, in addition to the site being branded unsafe and in breach of serious building code violations.
bioRASI , an affiliate of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) has named the area as its new headquarters from where it will base 45 employees and carry out clinical trial services for its global clients.
In addition, Synergyst Research , based in Texas, has also announced plans to set up an office in Miami with up to 20 staff members and start providing clinical trial management services.