When Pfizer announced it was closing its Ann Arbor campus, many people feared the consequences that would follow. Not everyone however. The people at QuatRx, for instance, looked at it as an opportunity to gain some premium talent.
The drug development firm has hired about 10 people over the last two years. The vast majority of them are ex-Pfizer employees, considered the cream of the crop in their respective fields.
"There are a lot of really good people available," says Julia Owens, senior director of business development for QuatRx. "It has worked out really well for us."
About two thirds of the company's 55 employees (25 of which are based in Ann Arbor) are have been employed at either Pfizer or Parke-Davis at one time or another.
However, the firm doesn't plan to hire anyone else in the near term. It is focusing on pushing its five different drugs under development toward FDA approval. The closest is Ophena, which helps treat vaginal atrophy in post menopausal women. The company is conducting testing on it and hopes to go apply for FDA approval in 2010.
"Our real focus is on developing our existing programs (drugs)," Owens says.
Source: Julia Owens, senior director of business development for QuatRx
Writer: Jon Zemke
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