Pfizer may be bailing on Michigan but its talent isn't. Along with a fair number of new-economy start-ups that have sprouted up in the wake of Pfizer's surprise move to close its Ann Arbor campus, the University of Michigan has hired 13 of the firm's top scientists.
"A major change like this one forces all of us to take risks and try new ideas," says Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan. "We believe that by making an investment in these talented people, we could not only help lessen the impact of the Pfizer move in the short term, but also strengthen the foundations of the region for the longer-term future."
Among the scientists now working for the University of Michigan are researchers that helped develop Lipitor, the most profitable medicine in history (raking in $12.9 billion a year). The university's College of Pharmacy is the biggest winner, taking in 10 of these brainiacs. Six of them will work in the newly formed Center for Drug Design and its core Medicinal Chemistry Core Synthesis Lab.
Other sectors of the university that are giving coveted homes to Pfizer refugees are the U-M Medical School and the Master of Pharmaceutical Engineering program.
"This is an excellent case where the University saw a need to quickly build up its strength in the area of drug discovery and at the same time take advantage of a significant emphasis in this area by a departing company," says Steve Forrest, vice president for research at U-M. "It has been a clear win-win situation for both U-M and the researchers who have every reason to remain in our area."
Pfizer plans to close the complex on the city's northeast side later this year. The announcement, made a little more than year ago, sent a chill down southeast Michigan's new economy backbone. However, that has turned out to be more smoke-and-mirrors fear than actual fire.
Ann Arbor SPARK estimates that more than 400 former Pfizer employees have been hired by more than 80 Michigan employers. SPARK has also helped former Pfizer people form 23 new start-ups. Other Pfizer workers have enrolled as U-M students or taken jobs as staff and faculty.
Source: University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
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