Plans for Devens drug plant on course

Yesterday's ouster of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s chief executive won't affect the company's plans to build a $660 million drug plant in Massachusetts, a spokesman said.

Despite the uncertainty hovering over the troubled New York pharmaceutical giant, which will be run by an interim chief, the company still expects to break ground on the site of the former Fort Devens this year.

``The announcement doesn't alter our plans in Devens -- the capital expenditure was approved by the board several months ago, and the departure of the CEO doesn't affect it," said spokesman Jeff Macdonald.

State political and business leaders are closely watching the progress of the plant, which was divulged in June. During a bidding war with several other states, Massachusetts agreed to amend its tax rules for the company and make more than $30 million in site improvements.

With the potential to employ 550 people and expand to an investment of $1 billion or more, the plant marked a triumph of the Romney administration's efforts to court businesses.

Bristol-Myers Squibb applied for its construction permit with the Devens Enterprise Commission last week. A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25, and final approval could come as soon as a month after that.

``They are obviously moving full steam ahead," said Mary Delaurier , chief of staff for MassDevelopment , the quasi-public state agency that manages Devens. ``They were talking yesterday to us about the groundbreaking ceremony."

The plant will produce so-called biotechnology drugs, expensive injectable proteins grown in vats of genetically altered cells. Such drugs have become a linchpin of the local biotechnology economy, fueling the growth of Cambridge firms Genzyme Corp. and Biogen Idec Inc. Two large out-of-state companies, Abbott Laboratories and Wyeth , also have large biological plants in Massachusetts.

Stephen Heuser can be reached at sheuser@globe.com.