Pharma, biotech companies in line of wildfires

SAN DIEGO With the wildfires still blazing in areas across San Diego, such pharma and biotech companies as Pfizer are preparing for closures and even evacuations of some of their facilities, according to drugresearcher.com.

Pfizer’s La Jolla research and development site is a 33.5-acre campus, with facilities covering more than 1 million square feet, including  Pfizer’s vaccines research and The Pfizer Incubator, a new facility where the company is financing life science start-ups.  The HIV drug Viracept is produced at the site, as well as new treatments for cancer and diseases of the eye.

Across San Diego County, there are more than 500 life science companies employing more than 36,000 people, according to industry association Biocom.  The companies range from small biotechs to some of the biggest names in drug development, such as Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, Biogen Idec, Genentech and Pfizer.  Between them, they generate more than $23 million for the economy every day.