The company plans to open its New York City facility by the end of 2013. The purpose of this new facility is to "take molecules discovered in Europe and move them into clinical development, as well as handle interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," the company told Reuters.

It was not immediately clear where this facility will be located.

Closing the 80-year-old facility in Nutley, New Jersey will eliminate 1,000 jobs. The laboratory was the site where Leo Sternbach invented Valium.

Earlier this year pharmaceutical company Dendreon, which designed a drug to treat prostate cancer, closed its manufacturing plant in Hanover Township.

drosen@observer.com