Pfizer recently announced plans to shut down its Boulder operations. But the life sciences industry is seeing the biopharmaceutical giant’s departure as an opportunity.
Chris Wood is Editor and Publisher of BizWest. He joined KUNC’s Nikole Robinson Carroll to unpack the story.
“Pfizer first came to Boulder with the 2019 acquisition of Array Biopharma that was a homegrown Boulder company,” Wood told KUNC. “Pfizer bought it for more than $11 billion. And that plant played a role in development for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, so a lot of attention was placed on it.”
However, Pfizer has been struggling recently. As the pandemic has waned, so have vaccine sales. The company began layoffs and plant closures nationwide in 2023.
“Boulder saw an earlier round of layoffs and that culminated last month with the announcement that Pfizer would close the Boulder operation,” Wood said. “All told, it will affect about 300 workers locally.”
Other states where Pfizer has closed offices include Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington.
Pfizer's decision to shut down its Boulder operations has sparked mixed reactions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. While some see it as an opportunity for growth, others are concerned about the impact on the local market.
“It's a story of two steps forward, one step backward,” Wood told KUNC. “And you see that over many years, sometimes setbacks can be turned into opportunities. And that's what a lot of the life sciences executives are hoping happens now.”
Northern Colorado has seen many life science facilities change hands in recent years.
“Amgen, for example, used to have plants in Boulder and Longmont,” Wood said. “It closed both operations and those plants went through various owners over the years, including AstraZeneca and Avexis, both of which eventually shut down their operations. Now, AGC Biologics operates both facilities with recent or planned expansions.”
The newly closed Boulder building could attract other biotech companies looking to expand into or within Colorado.
“Additionally, when you look at the Pfizer purchase of Array (Biopharma) a few years ago, a half dozen spin-offs have occurred after that sale, with four of those now publicly-traded companies,” Wood said. “So when you have a sale of a company or a closure, that can create opportunity for employees of those companies. Some might actually launch their own ventures, which can create far greater economic opportunity.”
But can the local industry support all the projects people are envisioning?
“The short answer is not right away,” Wood said.
The Boulder-Denver metro area currently has about 3.2 million square feet of life sciences space.
“A real estate brokerage reported a couple of years ago that the local market was in need of at least 1.3 million square feet of space that has dwindled over the years because some companies have occupied space,” Wood said. “Many developers reacted to that news, and with many converting buildings to life sciences use or announcing new projects. Even the former Boulder Beer building is now focused on life sciences companies, and other projects are envisioned throughout the Boulder-Denver corridor.”
Several million square feet of space in the Boulder area are under consideration for life sciences use.
“It's unlikely that there will be demand for all of that space, at least not in the near term,” Wood said.
