Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals intends to expand its existing 294-acre campus in Ridgefield and Danbury with a building project budgeted between $400 million to $500 million.

Company officials say that details of the project are still being worked on. The company says the expansion could consist of new laboratories to support research and development in the immunological, inflammatory and cardiovascular fields. They add that the firm plans to move the cardiovascular research function that is currently being performed in Biberach, Germany to the Danbury-Ridgefield campus. However, company officials say that a timetable on any new construction has not been set, nor has the size of the planned new facilities at the campus been finalized.

The company expects the project will create 500 to 700 new jobs over the next six years. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals is the largest subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corp., which is based here. The company employs approximately 2,100 workers at the Ridgefield/Danbury campus. The Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies, which has operations in 44 countries, posted revenues of $7.2 billion in 2002 and is headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany.

In announcing the expansion endeavor late last month, Dr. Alessandro Banchi, a member of Boehringer Ingelheim's board of directors said, "The expansion will mark a further decisive step in the future of Boehringer Ingelheim in the United States and in the implementation of our intent to grow our research and development activities in America in line with our company's vision of continuous growth in the US."

J. Martin Caroll, president and COO of Boehringer Ingelheim, added, "Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has a bright future ahead, with several promising new products on the horizon. As a company, we are positioned to be true leaders in the extremely competitive pharmaceutical arena. The planned expansion of our US headquarters campus is visible proof that we are extremely optimistic about reaching and exceeding our near and long-term goals."