Raleigh will get medical test firm

PRA International will hire 494 over four years at an average $75,000 salary; N.C. incentives were the lure

A company that helps drug makers test new medicines will move its headquarters from Virginia to Raleigh, adding to the Triangle's reputation as a clinical research powerhouse.

PRA International said Tuesday that the move from Reston, Va., allows it to expand its operations and take advantage of the Triangle's talent pool. The company, which employs 2,800 worldwide, said it will hire 494 people over four years. The company will receive up to $8.4 million in state grants if it retains those job creation numbers for nine years.

Moving here will also get the company closer to existing and potential clients, said Linda Baddour, PRA's chief financial officer. The Triangle is home to a host of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, all potential clients. PRA conducts clinical trials on drugs, with an emphasis in oncology, central nervous system, allergy and respiratory and cardiovascular disorders.

PRA has yet to pick its new home, but among the sites under consideration is GlenLake office park near U.S. 70 and Creedmoor Road. The Raleigh operations will be PRA's first in North Carolina.

"This is exactly the type of company we've been looking for," said Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker.

PRA expects some of the 37 people working in Reston to relocate but doesn't know many will make the move. As the company generates new business, it will add jobs that are expected to pay an average salary of more than $75,000. That's more than double the Wake County average of $35,672, not including benefits.

Most of the candidates for the new jobs will be recruited in the Triangle, but PRA will have competition for the best workers and may need to recruit employees from the Wilmington and Charlotte areas.

The Triangle's contract drug research industry is booming, and several companies are expanding. For instance, Durham-based Quintiles Transnational, already an industry giant, is looking to add about 1,000 employees to its local operations over the next several years. Expanding PRA's recruitment area will give the company flexibility without costing it incentives, said Deborah Barnes, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Commerce.

PRA began to look for a new headquarters location in June and talked to several states, Baddour said. North Carolina's incentives offer was the best.

Founded in 2001, PRA has about 30 offices worldwide. In the past three years, the publicly traded company has struggled with annual revenue that has stagnated at about $300 million annually, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show.

The company projects revenue of $330 million to $350 million this year.

In February, PRA announced a restructuring that closed two offices in Eatontown, N.J., and Ottawa, Canada, but didn't include staff reductions.

A $790 million offer from an existing investor is expected to buy out PRA investors and take the company private by the end of the year, SEC filings show. Genstar Capital, a San Francisco private equity firm, owned a 12.8 percent stake in PRA before the buyout offer was announced July 25.

Baddour said Genstar's offer is unrelated to PRA moving its headquarters to the Triangle.

Under the nine-year agreement with PRA, state officials estimate the project will generate almost $5 million in state revenue and contribute up to $2.52 million to North Carolina's Industrial Development Fund for infrastructure improvements in rural and economically distressed areas of the state. This contribution is required of grant recipients that locate in prosperous counties such as Wake.