by Scott Van Voorhis
Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Novartis AG yesterday unveiled plans for a massive research campus in Cambridge that will serve as the Swiss drug giant's U.S. research headquarters.

The drug development behemoth will open a $250 million research center in a collection of MIT-owned office and research buildings, bringing another 400 scientists and technologists to Kendall Square's biotech hothouse.

But that's just for starters.

Novartis executives said they intend to expand their presence rapidly. The company is currently in talks to lease another two or three buildings in the area, a top Novartis executive said.

All told, Novartis is looking to create a giant campus over the next few years, one that could expand to as much as a million square feet of lab space and employ upwards of 900 scientists and researchers.

The Novartis move, one of the the largest single commitments to Cambridge by a major drug maker, marks a coming of age for Kendall Square's booming cluster of biotech firms, observers say. Once home to fast-growing information technology start-ups, the industrial area near the Charles River now attracts the heavyweights of the drug development world.

``This is a major coup, not only for the country, but for the Cambridge/Boston area as well,'' said Charles Vest, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Underscoring the importance of its move, Daniel Vasella, Novartis' chief executive, gathered a crowd of local officials including U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the powerful chairman of the Senate's panel on health issues, to hear its plans. Kennedy has played an important role in boosting research funding for the National Institutes of Health, which spends a significant amount of money sponsoring biomedical research in the region.

Novartis also confirmed it is in talks to lease another building in Kendall Square being built by developer - and former Cambridge city councilor - David Clem. And sources say Novartis may be looking at a second Clem building in the neighborhood.

Novartis research chief Paul Herrling said the company hopes to open its first building, at MIT's Technology Square complex, early next year. By that time, he also hopes to have deals for additional buildings in place.

Novartis also appears to have set its sights on the area's research talent. The company hired Dr. Mark Fishman, currently a top research doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital, to lead its new Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge.

Novartis is one of a growing number of major drug makers setting up shop in the Hub. Among others that have moved in - or said they planned to - are Pfizer Inc., Wyeth and Merck.

``The big guys are coming in,'' Vest said. They join homegrown firms such as Biogen, Genzyme and Millennium, to name a few.

All told, Cambridge drug and biotech firms spend $1.1 billion a year on research, MIT officials estimate. And more than 25,000 people work locally in biotech and drug firms.

Given Cambridge's growing reputation as a drug research hotspot, Vasella, Novartis' CEO, said he believes his company needs a to be here in a big way to stay competitive.

``I believe the center here in Cambridge will contribute substantially to solving the problems of health care in the 21st century,'' Vasella said.