The Dr. Paul Janssen Research Center
It’s in this brand new 17,500 m2 building that the first steps in pharmaceutical research – the so-called “discovery phase” – will be taken. There the 300 researchers of the Discovery Division will search for new molecules to combat diseases in the area of central nervous system, cancer, and internal medicine. To make their task easier the new center has been blessed with laboratories and new technologies that are among the most sophisticated in the world. The building has also been specially designed to stimulate and optimize communication between chemists and biologists. The Center’s huge atrium and open meeting rooms will encourage staff on all floors of the new building to interact productively.
Any promising new molecules that the researchers come up with will then be subjected to further testing and development by the other 1100 research staff on the Beerse site.

An Ambitious Investment in Research
The Dr. Paul Janssen Research Center is one of the five large investment projects totaling 180 million euro that Janssen Pharmaceutica and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development had planned for Belgium.

Building Opening Date Investment Floor Area. Staff Pharmaceutical Development Dec 2002 50 million € 9.000 m² 150 Clinical Pharmacology Unit May 2003 3 million € 945 m² 112 Clinical Supply Unit Oct 2004 15 million € 6150 m² 157 Dr Paul Janssen Research Center Oct 2004 68 million € 17.500 m² 300 Drug Safety Evaluation Center Dec 2004 44 million € 12.000 m² 145 Total 180 million € 45.595 m² 564

These investments have come out of the company’s R&D budget, which in recent years has grown steadily from 775 million euro in 2001 and 805 million euro in 2002, to approximately 868 million euro in 2003. That makes Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development by far the biggest R&D investor in Belgium.

Europe’s Most Advanced Pharmaceutical Research Facility
With the cost of discovery and development of new drugs steadily rising, and the prospects of those same drugs receiving official approval becoming ever slimmer, it was absolutely essential to find an innovative approach. A perfect illustration of this approach is the use of new technologies. In the discovery phase, bio-informatics and chemo-informatics are some of the techniques used to reduce the time required to design new molecules, while combinatorial chemistry enormously increases the number of opportunities to create them. The robotic techniques of High Throughput Screening (HTS) help increase to tens of thousands the number of tests that can be performed on new molecules each day. At the same time, molecules failing to show promise are quickly identified and can as quickly as possible within the organization so that they can be dropped immediately from research programs. Much of the pharmaceutical research technology used at the Dr. Paul Janssen Research Center is unique or, at least, is among the very best in the world.

Architectural Challenges
In a building consisting both of laboratories and offices it is vital to have an infrastructure that is of the very highest order technologically. The cooling and air conditioning systems are specially important, as they ensure an optimum working environment from the perspective of both comfort and safety (e.g. by extracting noxious fumes from the laboratories). One innovative feature is the use of presence detection systems to control the ventilation and air conditioning units. Solar photovoltaic cells have been integrated into the roof. The heat recovery installation is further evidence of Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to environmental protection.

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development is one of the worldwide pharmaceutical research divisions of Johnson & Johnson, specializing in small molecules. The aim of the research organization, which is part of a wide R&D group, is to become world leader in the discovery and development of innovative drugs. As a pharmaceutical R&D company Johnson & Johnson is today ranked fourth in the world.

Janssen Pharmaceutica is a worldwide Center of Excellence of integrated R&D, production, and general services within the Johnson & Johnson group. In Belgium the company has premises in Beerse, Geel and Olen employing a total of 4,386 staff. With more than 80 drugs to its credit the company is one of the most innovative worldwide, and its products are used the world over in both human and animal health and in material protection.

Janssen-Cilag is the organization responsible for marketing the drugs in the various countries. Together, Janssen Pharmaceutica and Janssen-Cilag employ more than 4,600 persons in Belgium.