September 30th, 2009

Philadelphia Inq. reports:

As Wyeth’s acquisition by Pfizer Inc. took one step closer to completion yesterday, state legislators spearheading efforts to retain jobs here said they were fairly confident many positions would remain at Wyeth’s regional operations.

“Representatives of both Pfizer and Wyeth have continued to assure us that we should not worry and they have continued to listen to the case that we have made for as many jobs as possible remaining in Pennsylvania,” said State Sen. Andy Dinniman, a Democrat who represents parts of Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Wyeth employs about 4,500 people in the region – about 3,600 in Collegeville and 900 in Great Valley and other sites.

Dinniman, State Sen. John Rafferty, a Republican whose district includes parts of Montgomery, Berks, and Chester Counties, and others have been working with officials from Gov. Rendell’s office to lobby Pfizer, which is based in New York, to keep jobs here.

Rafferty said he, too, was hopeful that the region’s wealth of pharmaceutical and biotech companies and research opportunities would lure Pfizer into staying.

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