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New firm joining research campus

By Ben McNeely | Media General

Published: August 27, 2008

Kannapolis - A New Mexico respiratory research institute is joining the North Carolina Research Campus.
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, based in Albuquerque, plans to open its Center for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research in Kannapolis by October.
Founded in 1947 as a private nonprofit, LRRI is dedicated to "improving public health through research on the prevention, treatment, and cure of respiratory disease," according to its Web site.
The institute focuses on prevention, treatment and cure of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, emphysema, lung cancer, inhalation toxicology, aerosol science, inhalation drug delivery, bronchitis and allergies.
"We are committed to curing respiratory diseases through research aimed at understanding their causes and biological mechanisms; assessing and eliminating exposures to respiratory health hazards; and developing improved therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics," said Bob Rubin, president of LRRI, in a statement.
The institute employs 83 scientists and 539 technicians and support staff at its New Mexico headquarters. It has an annual budget for 2008 projected at $65 million, mostly gained through grants, contracts and philanthropy. The center that will locate in Kannapolis often does research with the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, according to a release from the research campus.
LRRI is the latest organization to join the research campus. Earlier this year, PPD, a contract research firm, said it would open a branch office in Kannapolis and bring 300 jobs. Recently, Sensory Spectrum, a consumer product research firm from New Jersey, said it was expanding and would open an office at the $1.5-billion campus. Other companies committed to the campus include Raleigh-based open-source software company Red Hat, LabCorp, Charlotte-based Carolinas HealthCare System, GlycoMark, and Huntersville-based Pelican Life Sciences.