The newly-formed group plans to assist pharmaceutical andrelated firms with facility management services and to assist thefirms with their real estate strategies. The company will alsomanage some of the capital projects for Pfizer and other companies,such as replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioningsystems, Barrett says. The new practice expects to reduceoperational costs for companies and be able to improve the qualityof service at the company's research and development facilities."One of the things that we are trying to so is look for ways toincrease productivity," Barrett says. The firm will see if thingsthe pharmaceutical company's staff is doing could be done moreefficiently by JLL's staff, or be outsourced to a differentcompany, such as materials management and logistics, he says.

Barrett has more than 20 years experience in the pharmaceuticalindustry, he says. He actually began his career as a chemist atBaxter. "I started in the lab as a developmental chemist on thebench," he says. Prior to his position as vice president ofoperations for Pfizer, he had oversaw Pfizer's US research anddevelopment operations, led research and development at Pharmaciaand directed several pharmaceutical and consumer manufacturingoperations for Searle. Barrett had been responsible for all ofPfizer's research and development sites.

Last month, Pfizer hired JLL to manage the company's researchand development facilities and commercial office facilities in theUS and the United Kingdom. Pfizer has 2.7 million sf of office inNew York City, where it has its headquarters, and also has researchand development facilities in Sandwich, England; Groton, CT; St.Louis and La Jolla, CA. The portfolio contains a total of 14.1million sf, Barrett says. Pfizer hired the firm to provideintegrated facility management, energy management, propertyimprovements and workplace services. Another client of the newpractice is Novartis, which has a one-million-sf, worldwideheadquarters in Cambridge, MA.