Bristol-Myers Squibb will open a North America capability center and create 579 life sciences jobs in Tampa, Fla. The 70,000-square-foot facility will open in January 2014 with approximately 250 employees. The company will add more than 325 additional jobs by 2017.

Florida is home to many biomedical research institutes, nearly 1,000 biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies and more than 44,000 healthcare establishments.

The Tampa Bay region is gaining reputation as a hub for R&D in life sciences, thanks to collaborative partnerships between West Central Florida colleges and universities and emerging private industries. Over 600 life sciences companies employing more than 13,200 workers operate in Tampa.

The project was made possible through partnerships with Enterprise Florida, Hillsborough County board of commissioners, Tampa Bay Partnership, Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development, Workforce Florida and the Department of Economic Opportunity.