Up to 1,000 workers will lose their jobs at AstraZeneca as the company closes two of its research facilities and ends development in various disease areas.
AZ’s R&D site at Charnwood in Leicestershire is to close, as well as a smaller facility in Cambridge. The company also intends to end R&D work at its Avlon facility near Bristol. Some workers will move to AZ’s largest R&D site, Alderley Park in Cheshire.
The cuts come as AZ ceases research into ten different therapy areas – a quarter of those currently being researched.
AZ has decided it will no longer develop treatments for blood clots, acid reflux, ovarian and bladder cancers, systemic scleroderma and hepatitis C. Exploration into therapies for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression will also end, as will research into vaccines other than those for respiratory syncytial virus and influenza.
Other companies have recently pulled research in areas where little therapeutic improvement seems likely to be made, notably GlaxoSmithKline’s decision to halt development of new medicines for depression and pain.
AZ recently predicted that it will need to cut 3,500 jobs in R&D by 2014 as part of its cost-cutting strategies.
Responding to the news, Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: “I’m obviously disappointed that AstraZeneca is closing Charnwood, but the announcement that Alderley Park will become one of AZ’s top three global R&D sites shows that the UK remains an attractive location for investment in pharmaceuticals. That’s testament to the work the Government has done through the Office for Life Sciences to support the sector, especially the creation of the patent box.”