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Scientific talent and an attractive lifestyle persuaded pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis to expand in the Tucson area, a French executive said in Oro Valley Thursday.

The company's 110,350-square-foot center will be built here "because this is a great place to live, work and create," said Jean-Marc Herbert, senior vice president of discovery research, who flew in from France for the center's groundbreaking.

Sanofi-Aventis employs 68 people at its current Tucson-area location, 1580 E. Hanley Blvd., near North Oracle Road and North First Avenue. The new building, 2090 E. Innovation Park Drive, will make room for 40 additional positions, said Tucson Site Director Beth Koch..

The company is committed to Tucson, Herbert said, as evidenced by its sponsorship of an employee team of El Tour de Tucson bicyclists. Based in France, Sanofi-Aventis is the world's third-largest pharmaceutical company.

The new center, at Oro Valley's Innovation Park, will cost about $40 million to build, not including the cost of furniture and moving expenses, Koch said.

"Our desire is that future gifts of research and medical innovations come from this research center," she said.

The company plans to begin moving into the new building in June 2009, she said. The company's presence at the Innovation Park will provide the "much needed critical mass to put Oro Valley on the map" as a leading biotech hub, said Oro Valley Mayor Paul Loomis.

Biotech companies currently at the Innovation Park include Ventana Medical Systems Inc. and Integrated Biomolecule Corp., or IBC.

Ventana is a leading producer of medical diagnostic devices and is Oro Valley's largest employer after relocating to the park in 2001, according to the town's Web site.

IBC specializes in the analytical and pharmaceutical development of molecules and moved to the park in 2004, according to the company's Web site.

Sanofi's Tucson-area operation focuses on the "very early stages of drug development," Koch said. The company researches and screens chemical compounds for medical use.

The company's expansion "validates our ability to attract foreign investment," said Joe Snell, Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities president. It also "represents the high-wage jobs we want and need," he said.

Sanofi-Aventis' Tucson operation was founded in 1990 by four University of Arizona professors as Selectide Corp. The company was sold in 1995 to Marion Merrill Dow Inc., which was later acquired by German drug maker Hoechst AG, which later merged with Aventis.

Aventis was later bought out by Sanofi-Synthélabo SA for $65 billion in 2004.