"The Pfizer Effect"

With Pfizer Inc.’s recent decision to move its Biotherapeutics and Bioinnovation Center (BBC) to San Francisco’s Mission Bay by early 2010, the neighborhood is set to become a hub for the biotech industry. Although Pfizer itself will only contribute 100 jobs at the outset, City officials hope it will set a high-profile example, helping to attract other biotech-focused firms to Mission Bay. “What Pfizer really does is help reinforce what others are saying about Mission Bay,” said Jennifer Matz of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “It’s proof, validation.” The San Francisco Business Times has termed this process the Pfizer Effect.

To date, Pfizer’s announcement has yet to produce any additional projects, but city officials are hopeful, the Business Times reported. “This is really just the beginning,” said Todd Rufo, of the OEWD. San Francisco’s Redevelopment Agency projects that at full build-out, Mission Bay will be home to 30,000 permanent residents and jobs, many of which will be biotech related. Pfizer has already helped to define the neighborhood as a center for collaboration, forming partnerships with Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) and Five Prime Therapeutics, both also located in Mission Bay.