7 April, 2022  | SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE

More than 1,000 people work at the Wilmington headquarters of Incyte, a global biopharmaceutical company with more than 2,000 employees, specializing in drug discovery in the fields of oncology and dermatology, among others. That’s a big fish in the pond that is Delaware’s growing biotech sector, and it’s getting bigger. Plans to expand its corporate campus with a building for chemistry, technical and development operations staff were nearly sidelined by the pandemic in 2020. But the company has been occupying the building since January, thanks to an assist from Governor John Carney, who like other state officials wants to keep all the state’s industry ponds stocked.

“The project finished early,” says Paula Swain, Incyte’s executive vice president of human resources. “During construction, it was very helpful to us that the governor allowed building to continue. We were able to safely operate that site without delays. People were working in space that was leased until March, and they would have had no space beyond that.

Also,” adds Swain, “had we halted construction, all the people working on the building would have been without jobs. Having access to the governor and explaining how important this was helped us finish the building when we needed it finished.”

With its roots in Palo Alto, California, recruiting East Coast scientific talent from Delaware and its proximity to biotech hubs in neighboring states was the way to go. “Delaware is becoming more of a biotech haven, and the cost of living is far lower than Palo Alto,” notes Swain. Once the state was chosen, public officials sprang into action. “Senator [Tom] Carper was instrumental in helping us secure space initially and encouraging access to our delegation, local leaders and representatives to have good dialogues with them. This isn’t typical in most states. You can know these people on a personal level. It gives companies a tremendous advantage. They are very helpful when you want to grow and expand.”