Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. was scheduled to break ground on its future headquarters in New Haven this morning.
The roughly $100 million project is seen as central to the Downtown Crossing/Route 34 East urban revitalization project, which seeks to bridge New Haven’s downtown with its medical district.
Alexion, which was founded in 1992 and is currently based in Cheshire, developed the drug Soliris, a therapy approved to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a very rare, life-threatening genetic disorder that progressively causes damage to vital organs.
CEO Leonard Bell, representatives of Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and other elected officials were expected to participate in the ceremony.
Alexion, which employs more than 350 people, is expected to create an additional 200 to 300 jobs in Connecticut by 2017, according to the Malloy administration. The pharmaceutical firm in June 2012 became the fifth company to announce its participation in the “First Five” economic development initiative spearheaded by the Malloy administration, which offers incentives to companies that pledge to create at least 200 jobs in Connecticut over a set time period.
