PARSIPPANY—Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. plans to establish a Global R&D Technology Center in North Brunswick. The Company has signed a lease for a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Technology Centre of New Jersey, a 50-acre complex consisting of lab, production and office space. Watson intends to initially invest approximately $4.5 million in outfitting the new facility.

The Company plans to immediately retrofit approximately 19,000 sq. ft. of space for product development and analytical laboratories. The remaining 13,000 sq. ft. will accommodate future expansion. The facility, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 2012, will employ approximately 50 scientists, chemists, engineers and support staff.

“The new center will become Watson’s state-of-the-art facility for developing generic pharmaceutical products, in particular for inhalation technology and respiratory products, with the ability to conduct formulation development and analytical testing," said Paul Bisaro, president and CEO of Watson. "In addition, this center will focus on process analytical technology, packaging development, pharmaceutical technology, inhalation technology and new technology evaluation."

In early 2010 Watson relocated its global corporate headquarters to Parsippany in a facility designed to support its global expansion and ultimately employ as many as 500 people. In the new, 149,000-sq.-ft. Parsippany facility, Watson combined senior management and global generics and brands administrative functions previously in separate facilities in the Morristown and Parsippany area. As part of the move, remaining corporate leadership functions previously located at Watson’s Corona, Calif. site, relocated into a larger space.

Watson was represented in the transaction by the Cushman & Wakefield team of executive director John Minervini and senior director Ron Ganter, while Jones Lang LaSalle senior vice President Jim Medenbach represented the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Through advocacy and business incentives, the New Jersey Partnership for Action helped to encourage Watson to choose New Jersey for its new R&D facility. The Partnership is a three-pronged public-private approach to economic development that includes the Business Action Center, which reports directly to Lt. Governor Guadagno and provides the business community with a single point of contact, applying a proactive, customer-service approach to businesses’ interactions with state government.