Bristol-Myers plans $250M Mass. expansion

Bristol-Myers Squibb's $250 million Devens expansion will shift jobs from New York and New Jersey and open the biopharmaceutical company to additional state tax incentives.

The New York company plans to expand its 89-acre biologics manufacturing facility — completed in 2009 for $750 million — and add 350 jobs to its already 400-strong workforce.

"This is a huge deal," said Susan Windham-Bannister, CEO of the quasi-public Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. "It's part of a trend that we've been seeing where large companies — literally nine out of the top 10 global leaders in biopharma — have a presence in Massachusetts."

Biologics — proteins derived from living cells — are increasingly important for treatment of serious diseases and a growing part of Bristol-Myers' pipeline of potential new drugs, according to spokesman John Patella.

The two new buildings totaling 200,000 square feet will add new capabilities to the drugmaker's Devens complex, which has focused on large-scale, bulk biologics manufacturing. One will be dedicated to process development — developing ways to manufacture new molecules coming out of the discovery stage and prepping for production scale-up. The other will house clinical manufacturing of investigational medicines to support clinical trials.

Centralizing both in one location is designed to accelerate Bristol-Myers' development and launch of new products, Patella said.

The 350 added jobs will include relocated workers and new hires. Bristol-Myers has leased temporary lab space in Hopkinton to begin shifting jobs closer to Devens and start hiring.

The company expects to save an estimated $5 million, or 38 percent, over 13 years in incremental new property taxes on the expansion. The MassDevelopment abatement requires it to maintain at least 550 Devens jobs during the period. Under a tax package sealed in 2007, when Bristol-Myers started building its current 400,000-square-foot facility, it secured a $35 million abatement over 20 years for keeping 350 jobs.

The company also will be able to apply for the MLSC's job-based tax incentive program when the next application round opens in July.

Bristol-Myers expects to start construction later this year and complete the expansion in 2015.

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The Ticker

Pfizer shifts workers to Kendall Square

Drug maker Pfizer Inc. will relocate a majority of its 530 Cambridge North workers from Alewife to Kendall Square. The company will also sell or sub-lease its buildings at 87, 200, and 35 CambridgePark Drive, and 620 Memorial Drive.

The employee shift is expected to occur early next year, but the company said it expects there will be minimal impact to the size of Pfizer's workforce in Massachusetts.

Syros takes off with $30M

Syros Pharmaceuticals, a Watertown-based company that harnesses breakthroughs in gene control for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, launched yesterday with a $30 million first round of funding.

The company was co-founded by ARCH Venture Partners and Flagship Ventures. Syros said it will use the capital to speed up the discovery and development of novel gene control medicines.

Bright Horizons acquires UK co.

Bright Horizons of Watertown has acquired kidsunlimited, a company that operates dozens of nurseries throughout England and Scotland, for more than $69 million in cash. The transaction is expected to be neutral to Bright Horizon's earnings for the rest of the year.

Murray touts transportation

Senate President Therese Murray said yesterday a $805 million transportation financing bill might grab Gov. Deval Patrick's attention as both sides have not formally met to discuss the issue in more than three weeks. Murray also chided the governor, whose own $1.9 billion plan remains stalled, for language that criticized the Legislature's proposal.

Houghton acquires Montreal co.

Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired educational technology company Tribal Nova of Montreal, Canada, for an undisclosed amount. Tribal Nova is focused on the development of digital games, products and services for preschoolers.

Microsoft to make waves in Natick

A new Microsoft retail store will open at the Natick Mall on June 8. Hit alternative rock band Weezer is expected to perform a concert to celebrate the grand opening.

TODAY

• The Specialty Coffee Association of America 2013 annual exposition is held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

THE SHUFFLE 

• Dean College has promoted Dr. Dawn Poirier, left, to dean of the School of Liberal Arts, effective June 1. A member of the Dean College faculty for 14 years, Poirier most recently served as Dean's department chairman for math, science and sport fitness studies.

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Condos on the rise in Danvers

The Massachusetts condo market is finally warming up.

After several years of slow growth, developers are building again and potential owners are buying from floor plans.

Just a few years ago, real estate developers were converting their condo buildings into rentals because of the downturn in the housing market.

In February 2012, Tina Pizzuti Brzezenski, a partner with Pizzuti Development, had a permitted site in Danvers to build residential apartments.

Brzezenski, a real estate veteran with more than 20 years of experience, was continually monitoring the market and started to notice several industry forecasts that showed stabilizing rents and modest increases in vacancy rates.

"This is typically a trend that starts in the suburbs first, which may be indicative of supply catching up with demand," Brzezenski said.

Brzezenski also knew that inventory levels for homes on the market were dropping and Danvers hadn't seen any new construction of condo development in years.

Currently, there are 40 condos listed for sale in Danvers, 25 percent of them have active offers and 16 condos are presently under contract, according to MLS PIN. It's a far cry from the past few years when there would typically be between 66 and 72 condos on the market in Danvers.

With support from her bank to move forward on a condo project instead of rental development, Brzezenski went back to the town and got the development approved for condos. The result, located on Andover Street in Danvers where the old Natalie's Restaurant used to stand, will be the Residences at Rose Court.

Named after the rose garden that will be featured in the middle of the two residential buildings with elevators, the complex will consist of 71 units, all with individual balconies.

The one-, two- and three-bedroom units, between 1,065 square feet and 1,588 square feet, will be priced from $240,000 to $400,000. Each condo unit will have two parking spaces and indoor parking spaces will be available separately for purchase, at $7,500 to $9,500.

The residences will also have a state-of-the-art fitness center located in Building Two, complete with cardio machines, weight training equipment and a floor exercise area. There is a function room in the main clubhouse that residents can reserve for parties or events.

"In addition, there will also be a community garden where the residents can grow their own flowers, herbs or vegetables as well as a separate playground area," Brzezenski said.

Building Two will be the first to open, likely by Oct. 1, and the other building is expected to be complete by January.

Sales for the units begin tomorrow. There will be an on-site sales office located in the clubhouse with the model of the units' interior.

Interior features will include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and in-unit washer and dryers. There will also be high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. Owners will be able to customize some unit features.

Jennifer Athas is a licensed real estate broker. Follow her on Twitter @jenathas

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Ad Flub tarnishes arches

Mental health advocates yesterday blasted a McDonald's ad on the MBTA that appears at first to be a public service announcement targeting people suffering from depression.

"It's really too bad because it trivializes the whole issue of depression," said Julie Totten, executive director of Waltham-based Families for Depression Awareness, which has been running an ad of its own on the T for its Strides Against Stigma Walk on April 27 at Boston University. "We're trying to say when you need help, it's not a laughing matter. We don't want people to feel stigmatized or made fun of."

The controversial McDonald's ad shows a woman with her head buried in her hands. "You're not alone," it says, and in smaller print below that, "Millions of people love the Big Mac," followed by a telephone number.

In a statement, McDonald's said the ad was only recently brought to its attention.

"We can confirm this ad was not approved by McDonald's. And, as soon as we learned about it, we asked that it be taken down immediately," said the fast food giant, which had revenue of $27.6 billion last year. "We have an approval process in place with our marketing and advertising agencies to ensure that all advertising content is consistent with our brand values. Regrettably, in this incident, our agency did not follow that process."

Pam Hamlin, president of Boston-based Arnold Worldwide, the agency behind the ad, apologized yesterday to McDonald's and to anyone who was offended.

"McDonald's did not approve the ad, and its release was our unintended error," Hamlin said in a statement. "We've addressed the issue and have improved our approval process to ensure this does not happen in the future."

Steve Connelly of the ad firm Connelly Partners said the location where an ad runs often affects how the ad is perceived.

"To do an ad like this in a place like the T, where you see a lot of PSAs offering support services for people, comes with the risk of alienating people," he said. "It's a bad marketing environment to do a parody."

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the T made $1,300 by allowing the 28 poster ads to run on one train for one week before McDonald's pulled them.

"The ads did not violate the MBTA's court-approved ad guidelines," Pesaturo said in an email. "The T is required by law to make every effort to maximize nonfare revenue through measures such as advertising sales."

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Copa builds direct route from Boston to Panama

This summer, about $600 and 5 1⁄2 hours will get you from Boston to Panama City for work or pleasure.

Beginning July 10, Copa Airlines will offer the first daily nonstop service from Logan to Tocumen International Airport, with connections to 57 other destinations in Latin America.

"We will be the only direct, nonstop flight from Boston to Latin America," Copa CEO Pedro Heilbron said yesterday. "We're filling a void."

Boston is currently the largest U.S. market without nonstop service to Latin America, Heilbron added.

Round-trip flights, including meals, will cost between $500 and $600.

Copa will operate a Boeing 737-700 Next-Generation aircraft with seating for 12 passengers in business class and 112 in the main cabin. Flight attendants will be bilingual.

"Panama is the only place where you can have breakfast in the Pacific, lunch in the Caribbean and visit the Panama Canal and a rainforest, all in one day," said Ernesto Orillac, Panama's vice minister of tourism.

Copa passengers can make connections to destinations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, without customs or immigration waits for in-transit passengers.

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Boston co. throws open the gates for bull runs stateside

It's the Running of the Bulls and La Tomatina, American-style.

A Boston company is staging stateside versions of two of Spain's celebrated annual traditions. The Great Bull Run has announced an initial nine cities where attendees can participate in live bull runs and tomato food fights.

Co-founders Bradford Scudder and Rob Dickens decided to tailor the bull run to American audiences after failing to check off the Spanish version from their bucket lists. During Spain's Running of the Bulls, the animals are let loose from a corral to stampede through Pamplona's narrow streets as spectators race in front of and alongside them on the way to the bullfight ring.

"It's something that we had always wanted to do — and we knew a lot of people who always wanted to do it — but never had the chance," Dickens said. "It's just not a very feasible thing for most people."

The Great Bull Run is a day-long festival, with participants paying for one bull run (held hourly 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for up to 1,000 people each) and one Tomato Royale fight (held three times daily). They also get to enjoy live bands, mechanical bull rides, games, food and beer.

Slatted fences will line the quarter-mile "bull run" courses, allowing participants to climb over or slide under to escape the dozen bulls. Nooks also provide sanctuary. But participants, who must sign waivers, still run the risk of getting gored or otherwise injured.

"It is a dangerous event, and that's the entire thrill of it," Dickens said. "It's like skydiving, mountaineering or rock-climbing. If it was safe, no one really would want to do it."

Unlike in Spain, the bulls won't be killed later in bullfights.

"They do a lot of things to the bulls in Spain that many people view as inhumane to make them more aggressive and to make sure that they run the course," Dickens said. "We treat the bulls very, very well. We understand that people have different opinions on the use of animals for entertainment purposes, but we take every precaution to ensure that our animals are treated humanely."

The Great Bull Run kicks off at Virginia Motorsports Park on Aug. 24. There's no New England stop yet, but the company hopes to find a suitable venue.

Dickens and Scudder also oversee the 20-city Rugged Maniac obstacle race series.

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NH jury: Exxon Mobil owes $236M over gas chemical

CONCORD, N.H. — An order for Exxon Mobil to pay $236 million in damages for groundwater contamination is by far the largest verdict in state history but represents only about two days' worth of profit for the energy company, an industry analyst said.

Fadel Gheit, managing director of oil and gas research and a senior analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., said the verdict won't put a dent in Exxon Mobil's bottom line.

"Exxon will probably make close to a $40 billion profit this year," Gheit said. "That's two days' work."

He said it's no surprise that Exxon Mobil would take the state's 10-year-old contamination lawsuit to trial, saying the company "will make you sweat for every dollar you think you're going to get." Company leaders view it as a matter of principle, he said.

The jurors reached their verdict against the Irving, Texas-based energy company in less than 90 minutes after sitting through nearly three months of testimony. Lawyers on both sides were stunned by the speed with which they reached the verdict on liability and even more stunned when they took barely 20 minutes more to fill out the damages verdict.

Juror Dawn Booker, of Pembroke, said all 12 jurors felt "very, very confident about our decision."

"It was just cut and dry," Booker said. "We all pretty much had our own decision before we went in there."

Although the state's burden of proof was a preponderance of the evidence, or 51 percent, as the judge explained, Booker said it was "way more than 51 percent for New Hampshire."

Lawyers for Exxon Mobil Corp. say they will appeal and file motions that could land the case back to the courtroom before month's end. A motion to set aside the verdict is common in civil liability cases.

Exxon Mobil lawyer David Lender said "erroneous rulings" prevented the jurors from hearing all the evidence and deprived the company of a fair trial.

"We have strong legal and factual arguments to make on appeal," he said.

Attorney General Michael Delaney called the verdict and award "historic" and said the state will vigorously defend them on appeal.

The panel awarded the state all $236 million it was seeking from Exxon Mobil to monitor and remediate groundwater contaminated by MTBE, a chemical added to gasoline to reduce smog but found to travel farther and faster in groundwater than gasoline without the additive. A teaspoon, experts testified, can cause widespread contamination.

The verdict is more than twice the $105 million jurors awarded the New York City Water District in 2009 in its case against Exxon Mobil over MTBE contamination. That case is on appeal.

California law firm Sher Leff, which won the New York City verdict, was hired by New Hampshire near the outset of its 2003 lawsuit to try its case against Exxon Mobil.

Jurors found that Exxon Mobil was negligent in adding MTBE to its gasoline and that MTBE was a defective product. They also found Exxon Mobil liable for failing to warn distributors and consumers about its contaminating characteristics.

The jury found damages in the amount of $816 million, but that award was reduced to 28.9 percent of the total, reflecting Exxon's market share of gasoline sold in the state between 1988 and 2005.

Lawyers for Exxon Mobil argued the company used MTBE to meet federal Clean Air Act mandates to reduce air pollution and should not be held liable for sites contaminated by other retail businesses.

Exxon Mobil was the sole remaining defendant of the 26 the state sued in 2003. Citgo was a co-defendant when the trial began in January, but it began settlement negotiations with the state and withdrew from the trial. Citgo ultimately settled for $16 million, bringing the total the state has collected in MTBE settlement money to $136 million.

Attorney Matt Pawa, of the Pawa Law Group in Boston, has been involved in the case from the start and brought in the Sher Leff firm. He said perseverance paid off.

"When you seek justice against one of the world's biggest corporations, you have to stick it out for the long haul," he said.

Jurors had more than 400 exhibits to sift through, including memos and reports dating back decades. Those memos included some in which Exxon Mobil researchers warned against using MTBE gasoline because of the extensive harm it can do to groundwater.

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Dockworkers ratify new 6-year contract

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — Dockworkers along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico have ratified a new six-year contract, ending more than a year of negotiations.

The International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, posted news of the ratification on its website late Tuesday. It said vote totals from its 14,500 longshoremen were still being tallied but that the contract was "overwhelmingly approved."

The contract between the longshoremen and the U.S. Maritime Alliance originally expired Sept. 30, 2012. Federal mediators negotiated extensions to avert possible strikes that could have crippled operations at major ports along the East Coast.

The union said the contract includes wage increases totaling $3 an hour spread out over the life of the agreement. By the final year of the new contract the hourly pay rate will be $35 an hour.

The progressive pay scale for lower tiered workers also will be shortened to six years from nine years. A new union member earning a base pay of $20 an hour at the start of the new contract will earn $35 an hour by the end of the six years.

Among the job protections won was contract language that "strongly protects" union workers who have been displaced due to new technology and automation, and terms that restrict outsourcing or subcontracting of Longshoremen's Association jobs to non-union employers.

No charges will be made to the health care plan.

"We all worked very hard, achieved landmark improvements and protected our members and our union for many years," said ILA President Harold J. Daggett.

Members of the Maritime Alliance, an alliance of container carriers, direct employers, and port associations serving the East and Gulf Coasts, will vote to ratify the contract on April 17.

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China recovery dogged by doubt as data questioned

BEIJING — China reported stronger trade in March in a possible positive sign for its recovery but analysts said the data might be inflated and give a distorted picture of the economy's health.

Imports rose 14.1 percent after growing 5 percent rate for the combined January-February period, customs data showed Wednesday, suggesting Chinese manufacturers and consumers might be buying more.

Export growth slowed to 10 percent from the previous two-month period's 23.6 percent. That could add to challenges for newly installed Communist Party leaders as they try to sustain the rebound from China's deepest downturn since the 2008 global crisis and avoid job losses.

Analysts said, though, the data might be distorted by companies misreporting trade or government manipulation, clouding the picture of whether an economic recovery is gaining traction.

Exports probably are lower than reported, based on what is known about shipments into Hong Kong, which Beijing lists as its biggest trading partner, said Francis Lun, chief economist of GE Oriental Financial Group. Hong Kong is Chinese territory but is treated as a separate customs region.

"The figures in Hong Kong to and from China do not add up," he said. "Instead of 10 percent growth, you have 2 or 3 percent."

China's economic growth rose to 7.9 percent in the three months ending in December, up from the previous quarter's 7.4 percent. Analysts say the recovery from the country's deepest downturn since the 2008 global crisis is being propped up by government spending and could be vulnerable if trade or state-driven investment weakens.

Commentators raised questions after China's strong trade data failed to match up with much lower figures reported by its trading partners.

Some suggested companies might be reporting phony exports to get tax rebates or to evade Beijing's strict capital controls and move money into China with fictitious billing of foreign customers. Others say Beijing might have exaggerated trade volume to make the economy look healthier during the transition to new Communist Party leaders in recent months.

"Today's trade data release has not instilled any more confidence in either the quality of data or the strength of the recovery," said IHS Global Insight analyst Alistair Thornton in a report.

Other indicators show economic activity recovering but at a slow pace. A survey of manufacturing by a Chinese industry group showed activity improved in March but by only a fraction of one point on a 100-point scale.

Also in March, inflation fell, suggesting consumer demand might be weaker than authorities hoped.

Referring to February's explosive reported export growth, Alaistair Chan of Moody's Analytics said in a report, "It now seems that it was probably due to some issue with the reporting of exports, or possibly over-invoicing as firms evaded capital controls to bring in more foreign capital."

Chinese customs officials defended their data Wednesday at a news conference.

"Every dollar that is listed in the customs trade data can be traced back to an actual declaration form," said Zheng Yuesheng, a spokesman for the bureau. "The exported or imported goods listed on the declaration form have to be something shipped across the border, either in or out."

Beijing's capital controls and tax breaks and other privileges for foreign investors give Chinese companies an incentive to covertly bring in money from abroad. Economists believe a large share of China's reported foreign investment is money sent abroad by Chinese companies and "round-tripped" back into the country.

China's trade is volatile in the first few months of each year as companies shut down for several weeks during the Lunar New Year and then buy raw materials to resume production.

March exports rose to $182.2 billion while imports were $183.1 billion, leaving a rare monthly deficit of $900 million, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The trade surplus with the United States narrowed by 34 percent from a year earlier to $11 billion. The surplus with the 27-nation European Union shrank 35 percent to $5.3 billion.

Exports to Germany, China's biggest European trading partner, fell 7 percent while shipments to France declined 6.7 percent.

Analysts have warned Beijing also faces possible risks from a rapid rise in bank lending and local government debt, part of which paid for the stimulus that helped China rebound quickly from the 2008 crisis.

The ratings agency Fitch cut its rating on China's long-term local currency sovereign debt late Tuesday, citing potential risks from rapid growth in credit and local government debt loads. The rating was cut from AA- to a still healthy A+.

The change is unlikely to cause trouble for the government because it has relatively low debt levels compared with other major economies. Fitch left its rating on China's foreign-currency government debt unchanged.

Fitch said its analysts believe China's total credit may have risen to the equivalent of 198 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2012 from 125 percent in 2008. It said that includes bank credit and informal lending used by entrepreneurs who often cannot get loans from the state-owned financial industry.

Debt of local governments rose to 25.1 percent of GDP at the end of 2012 from 23.4 percent a year earlier, Fitch said.

"Risks over China's financial stability have grown," said a Fitch statement. It warned that "underlying structural weaknesses" including relatively low economic development despite rapid growth "weigh on China's ratings."

___

AP Business Writer Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and researcher Flora Ji in Beijing contributed.

___

General Administration of Customs of China: www.customs.gov.cn

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The Ticker

J.C. Penney's CEO fired

J.C. Penney's board of directors has ousted CEO Ron Johnson after only 16 months on the job as a risky turnaround strategy backfired and led to massive losses and steep sales drops.

The department store chain said that it has rehired Johnson's predecessor Mike Ullman, 66, who was CEO of the department store chain for seven years until November 2011.

The announcement comes as a growing chorus of critics including a former Penney CEO, Allen Questrom, called for Johnson's resignation as they lost faith in an aggressive overhaul plan that included getting rid of most discounts in favor of everyday low prices and bringing in new brands.

Mass. gas prices drop again

Bay State gas prices are down another three cents this week, according to AAA Southern New England.

Self-serve, regular unleaded gas is currently averaging $3.56 a gallon, three cents lower than the national average of $3.59. Local prices are down 13 cents over the past month.

A year ago at this time the Massachusetts average price was $3.87.

White confirmed to lead SEC

The U.S. Senate confirmed Mary Jo White's nomination as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, making her the first former prosecutor to lead the federal agency that oversees Wall Street.

White was approved by a Senate voice vote. She will replace Elisse Walter, who has been interim SEC chairman since Mary Schapiro resigned in December.

TODAY

 The Wentworth Institute of Technology hosts a "Pitchfest" event on campus where students present their startup ideas in the hopes of receiving funding.

TOMORROW

 The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its March interest-rate meeting.

 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham break ground for the new Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center & Surgical Pavilion in Needham.

 IdeaPaint of Ashland has promoted John Stephans, left, to the position of president. Stephans, who succeeds outgoing president Bob Munroe and was formerly senior vice president of marketing, innovation and operations at the company. Prior to that, Stephans was senior vice president of strategic and product marketing at Monster.

 Boston-based Direxion has hired Eric Falkeis as president and chief operating officer of Rafferty Asset Management, the advisor to Direxion Funds and Direxion Shares. Falkeis was most recently chief financial officer and director of exchange-traded fund operations at U.S. Bancorp Fund Services.

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