At the news conference announcing the expansion by Amgen Inc., House and Senate leaders unveil new legislation to keep biotechnology and biomanufacturing companies expanding in the state.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 27, 2006

BY ANDREA L. STAPE
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Amgen Inc. plans to increase employment at its West Greenwich drug manufacturing facility over the remainder of this year by 35 percent.

The world's largest biotechnology company announced during a news conference at the State House yesterday that it plans to add 450 employees in West Greenwich over the next eight months, boosting its local work force to more than 1,700.

At the same news conference, leaders from the House and Senate unveiled new legislation focused on keeping biotechnology and biomanufacturing companies such as Amgen expanding in the state.

The Biotechnology Jobs Growth Act seeks to extend the length of time biotech companies can cash in on investment tax credits. Currently, such companies that build facilities in the state can receive a tax credit worth a percentage of that investment, but have just seven years to cash in the credits. The bills recommend extending that time to 15 years.

One bill was introduced in the House yesterday by Finance Committee Chairman Steven Costantino, D-Providence, and a companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Finance Committee Chairman Stephen D. Alves, D-West Warwick.

David Beier, senior vice president of global government affairs for Amgen, said yesterday that the bills should help Rhode Island compete nationally. Typically it takes 12 to 15 years for biotech companies to develop a new drug and these bills accommodate that growth cycle, he said.

"This legislation really is catching up to the business model," said Beier. "Every other state wants a biotechnology industry. Every other state wants to compete with Rhode Island."

Beier also reiterated Amgen's commitment to Rhode Island. Already the company has invested $1.5 billion to refurbish and build its two Rhode Island manufacturing plants. It has expanded from 350 Rhode Island employees to 1,300 workers in less than five years.

The positions Amgen plans to add this year will cut across all levels of the company, from entry to director level, and pay a median salary of $55,000. About two-thirds of the new hires will need four-year degrees and the company is making an "aggressive effort" to hire Rhode Islanders, said Beier.

Keeping biotech companies growing in Rhode Island was a key driver for the proposed change in the legislation, said Alves and Costantino. In the past year, two small biotech companies -- RenaMed Biologics Inc. and Spherics Inc. -- decided to relocate to Massachusetts. Both said they couldn't find buildings in Rhode Island to accommodate their growth.

The revised investment act would help entice companies to grow, according to the legislators. The bills do not introduce a new tax credit, they just modify an existing one. But in return for the additional time to cash in the credits, the act requires companies to make major property and plant investments and maintain a median salary that's 125 percent of the statewide average wage. Also, a company must increase employment by 9.5 percent after the fourth year of the credit in order to take advantage of the extended life of the incentive.

"This act really brings the investment tax credit from a flirtatious promise to a real benefit," said Costantino.

In addition to Amgen, a number of smaller Rhode Island biotech companies and members of the state's biotech industry were at the news conference to support the legislation. Amgen worked with the House and Senate for at least six months on ways to modify the existing tax credit.

"There's a partnership [between the state and the industry] and that rests on an understanding of the Rhode Island economy," said Beier.

On top of keeping existing Rhode Island biotechnology companies expanding, the legislative leaders sponsoring the bill said they are hopeful that the act could help attract out-of-state companies -- such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, which is considering locating a plant in the state.

"The biotech industry is critical to the state of Rhode Island economy," said Alves.

astape@projo.com / (401) 277-7269