Tribune file photo
Covance, Chandler
Drug development services company Covance opened a $150 million testing laboratory in Chandler in early 2009, but announced this week that it’s closing the East Valley facility.
Thomas Boggan
Group protests testing facility in Chandler
Landon, a 2-year-old beagle, is filmed by TV crews as members of
the Citizens Against Covance protest in Chandler. April 19,
2009.
Covance officially opens Chandler lab
Thomas Boggan
Group protests testing facility in Chandler
Protesters rally against Covance in Chandler. April 19,
2009.
Thomas Boggan
Covance officially opens Chandler lab
Chandler Vice Mayor Bob Caccamo, from left, Arizona Secretary of
State Ken Bennett, Chandler Covance facility General Manager
Monique Heiser-Wong, Covance Chief Operations Officer Wendell Barr,
Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn and Covance Chief Executive Officer Joe
Herring cut the ribbon during an opening ceremony for the drug
testing facility in Chandler. March 26, 2009.
Covance unveils Chandler facility
Posted: Friday, May 4, 2012 6:31 pm
|
Updated: 12:06 pm, Mon May 7, 2012.
Covance to close $150M Chandler drug development facility
Tribune
East Valley Tribune
|
Covance, an international drug development services company that opened a $150 million drug testing laboratory in Chandler in early 2009, announced Wednesday that it’s closing the Chandler facility.
While the global corporation reported net revenue growth of 5.7 percent to $531 million for the first quarter of 2012, the Princeton, N.J.-based company said closing the Chandler facility will help it save at least $20 million annually.
As Covance worked to build its East Valley facility, the company drew the ire of protestors and activists not happy about a company that tests on animals moving into their proverbial backyards. But the Chandler facility opened anyway in March 2009 with a few dozen employees. Nearly 2,000 jobs were expected for the 27-acre, 280,000-square-foot site near the Chandler Municipal Airport.
Posted in
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on
Friday, May 4, 2012 6:31 pm.
Updated: 12:06 pm.
| Tags:
Covance,
Animal Rights,
Animal Testing,
Business_finance,
Chandler Facility,
Usd,
Chandler,
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Chandler Municipal Airport,
Drug Test
Dale Whiting posted at 7:04 am on Sat, May 5, 2012.
Humm,
Notice closely that Covance did not blame a sagging economy or the President for their decision to turn their back [at least temporarily] on their Chandler Facility. Let's all vote for Romney and see what happens in the next 4 years. I bet the facility stays closed. It was just another big business mistake.
AZnurse posted at 10:04 am on Sat, May 5, 2012.
Covance built its large animal testing facility in Chandler despite valid concerns from residents and animal protection groups, and now thankfully, is shutting down its local operation.
The concern among animal protection advocates was not about pharmaceutical testing on animals, which is required by federal law. More than a dozen animal research facilities are currently registered in Arizona. Some of those facilities have had violations or problems over the years. None has a track record to rival Covance. As opposed to Arizona's medical research facilities, Covance is a private lab that does animal testing for its clients. As the largest breeder of dogs and largest importer of primates for research in the United States, Covance's clients include manufacturers of tobacco, toxic, hazardous and corrosive household products, and pesticides.
Covance and its predecessors also have a history of serious Animal Welfare Act violations including physical abuse of monkeys. In addition to animal welfare violations, Covance and its predecessors have repeatedly imported infectious and dangerous diseases into the United States, and is the only animal testing facility to have brought Ebola into the United States. Not once, but three times.
In order to gain the trust of the community, Covance misrepresented its role and history of serious federal animal welfare and infectious disease violations. The company promised to "be a boon to the area's economy" and "help to create hundreds of stable, well-paying jobs."
Now, after just three years, Covance is closing its facility, leaving nothing but thousands of animal carcasses, laid-off employees, and city leaders duped by empty promises from a company that never should have been trusted.
ragdoll posted at 7:08 pm on Sat, May 5, 2012.
Great news. I've been boycotting everything in Chandler since Covance was going in. I hope the good Lord makes all those officials that voted to let Covance in and those that worked at and supported this facility will have to relive all the fear, pain and suffering everyday in hell, that these poor animals had to endure at this facility before their lives were taken. This place was a horrible injustice to animals and a symbol of a failed, greedy, heartless society.
swp posted at 12:55 pm on Sun, May 6, 2012.
This site was a failure from the beginning. Poorly engineered, second class sub contractors used to construct. They also transferred several people in from other location instead of hiring local. The ones I dealt with had blocks on their shoulders and would never listen to reason. Most of the people they did hire locally had been laid off from previous jobs, they were definitely not the pick of the litter. Good bye, don't let the door hit you where the sun does not shine.