Research firm gets $14.8 million to expand

RALEIGH -- A Raleigh company that helps drug makers test new medicines announced plans Wednesday to hire as many as 1,093 new workers during the next four years.

If INC Research meets those hiring goals, it will be eligible for state incentives grants of up to $14.8 million.

INC, which employs 1,300 people worldwide including nearly 400 in Raleigh, will scout Wake County for a new headquarters building, chief executive Jim Ogle said. The company leases space in two adjacent office buildings on Falls of Neuse Road.

The company expects the expansion will require an investment of about $19.2 million.

"This is good news for this county, this state, and we're excited about it," Gov. Mike Easley said. "It strengthens North Carolina's hold on biotechnology."

INC is the third contract research organization, or CRO, to announce expansions in the Triangle this year. Together, PRA International Ouintiles Transnational and INC expect to create 2,500 jobs in the next few years.

The ability to recruit new employees was one of the reasons INC is expanding at its headquarters, Ogle said.

INC also was in talks with Austin, Texas, and Philadelphia, Ogle said. Recruiters in those states also offered incentives, he said, "but North Carolina did better."

The state incentives awarded INC Research were approved this morning by the Economic Investment Committee of the state Department of Commerce.

As part of the agreement, the company is required to create 984 jobs by 2011 with a minimum average salary of $56,423. If it fails to meet those terms, as well as other conditions, the amount of the grant will be reduced or could be terminated.

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