Sunday, December 26, 1999

Drug maker moving to Florence

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The Associated Press

        EATONTOWN, N.J. — Five months after announcing plans to acquire Roberts Pharmaceutical Corp. here, British drug maker Shire Pharmaceuticals Group has decided to move its North American headquarters to Greater Cincinnati.

        Roberts will be moving to Florence, Ky., because office space and the cost of living are cheaper there, Roberts founder and former chairman Robert Vukovich told the Asbury Park Press.

        “They decided the cost savings outweighed the benefits of staying in the Northeast,” Mr. Vukovich told the newspaper.

        About 50 of the 240 employees were offered jobs in Kentucky, said Mr. Vukovich, now on the board of directors of Shire, which is based in Andover, England.

        Workers were told of the move last week, and Shire completed the nearly $1 billion stock deal on Wednesday, he said.

        Both companies specialize in developing and selling brand-name drugs acquired or licensed from other companies late in the research process.

       

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