Pfizer has announced the closure of its leading research center in the UK and that it will exit several research areas. The R&D facility in Sandwich, Kent, will close, with the majority of the site’s 2,400 staff being made redundant over the next 18 months to two years.
The firm is also exiting research in allergy and respiratory medicine, internal medicine, which includes research in lung, kidney, and urinary diseases; divisions located in Sandwich. Further cuts are planned at the Groton and New London campuses in Connecticut, USA, as the company also cuts its oligonucleotides and tissue repair and antibacterial research programs.
This move follows the loss U.S. patent protection for its biggest-selling product, Lipitor, and several difficult years for the pharmaceutical industry as they struggle to market new drugs.
