Essential News

San José, Costa Rica. August 25th, 2022. Pfizer, one of the world's leading and most innovative biopharmaceutical companies, officially opened its new facilities in Tower 2 at Escazú Village. There, it will continue to provide support services to various company operations globally. The new center marks yet another example of the company's commitment to Costa Rica, in terms of development, economic growth, and labor market expansion. In addition, its collaborative spaces are inclusive and were designed to promote both innovation and teamwork.

 

The center covers 8,500 m2 (91,500 ft2) and consists of four floors with healthy, flexible, and interactive collaborative spaces, which enable the hybrid work modality –both face-to-face and virtual – that the company offers. Specifically, the facility includes campus-type work areas that are open and facilitate sharing ideas, paired with innovation rooms, phone booths, gender-neutral bathrooms, and disability-adaptive furniture, among others. In addition, it can house up to 700 employees. For the inclusive design of its modern offices and to guarantee universal access to both employees and visitors, Pfizer relied on advice from the National Council for People with Disabilities (Conapdis). 

 

Within the framework of opening the new Pfizer Operations Center, Rodrigo Chaves, the President of Costa Rica, commented, “During these 72 years of history in common, we knew how to adapt to changes between decades. Along with technology, human talent, and with the determination of building a healthier world, we established a win-win relationship between the country and the company. Today, this alliance positions Costa Rica as a leader in the life sciences sector in the region. A sector whose exports reach more than $3 billion during last year and employs more than 38.000 people”. 

 

Costa Rica is the first country in Latin America to enact the company's new vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as its work model, known as the Human Workplace Experience. This not only seeks to promote creativity and collaboration, but also to provide greater access for people with disabilities and to create a positive balance between work experience and quality of life for its employees. In addition to its new facilities at Escazú Village, Pfizer has also redesigned, under this model, its commercial offices at Torre Lexus Avenida Escazú. Currently, both set an example for developing similar company projects in the region.   

 

From their new facilities, Pfizer will continue to provide support to company operations throughout the world, on matters of finance, risk management, project management, and compliance with anti-corruption regulations – services they have provided since 2013. Additionally, there are other recently incorporated areas, such as digital and information technologies and human resources. It should be noted that the support unit operates independently of the commercial and pharmacovigilance teams that Pfizer also has in the country.

 

Manuel Tovar, Minister of Foreign Trade, pointed out “Costa Rica is home of a robust life sciences ecosystem, more than 90 transnational companies of the sector carry out nearly 40 complex processes in our country. Pfizer’s new investment employs people in multiple areas such as finance, law, and management, that will support the company’s global operations; this is a sample of our human talent. Costa Rica is the choice of excellent to establish companies of medical devices, pharma and biotech”. 

 

Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of CINDE, celebrated this investment of the company as part of the consolidation of Pfizer in the country. “We are pleased to be part of this news because it demonstrates the confidence that the country gives to companies to continue growing. At the end of 2021, Costa Rica’s shared services sector provided employment opportunities to more than 100,000 Costa Ricans and continues to expand this impact. In addition, companies have evolved towards higher value-added services due to the qualified talent that our country provides”. 

 

“We feel extremely proud to launch this operations center under our new vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion, because it is a true reflection of the trust we have had, for more than 70 years, in Costa Rica, its climate, and its highly qualified human talent, to make possible our purpose of deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Thanks to this expansion, we can attract new employees and further motivate our current workforce to innovate in project execution, increase the country's reputation in both the industry and worldwide, and continue showing our support for Costa Rica and help strengthen the country as a global life centered hub,” said Bradley Silcox, Country Manager of Pfizer Central America and the Caribbean (CAC).

 

Nathan Bland, site lead of Pfizer Global Business Services, added, “In 2013, we began providing support to various company operations throughout the world. Opening these new facilities is an example of how much we have grown in the country and how we understand not only the needs of our patients, but also of our employees, allies, and Costa Rica. Inclusive offices go hand in hand with creating a greater and better experience for our people, in their work development, in strengthening our commitment to diversity and equity, and in delivering therapies that significantly extend and improve people's lives.” 

 

In addition to high-quality and multilingual talent, other factors that have influenced Pfizer's expansion in Costa Rica in recent years have been the company's history in the country (they first launched operations in 1950), economic and political stability, and the presence of other industry and health sector companies.

 

If you'd like to learn more about the open positions at Pfizer, you may do so at the following link (https://www.pfizer.com/about/careers) or via LinkedIn Jobs.

As 95% of the leadership team on site was female, diversity, equity, and inclusion were also important factors in the company's facilities design and internal construction. Another important feature is that the center's furniture is adjusted to the requirements of each employee, including those with disabilities, for optimal comfort.

 

To prepare the property, the company used suppliers highly committed to sustainability. In addition, the center has state-of-the-art technology that makes it possible to control air conditioning temperatures and light levels in each space, thus creating different environments according to employee needs and to reduce stress. It also has UVC air and water filters to benefit health.

 

Currently, Pfizer employs more than 1,000 people in the country, divided between areas of support, commercial, and pharmacovigilance. In addition, in the medium term, it plans to become certified for universal access and carbon neutrality.

 

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development, and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines, as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments, and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments, and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, Pfizer has worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. For more information, please visit us at www.pfizer.com and follow us via social media, including our Facebook page: Pfizer Centroamérica y Caribe.