GlaxoSmithKline to Shutter R&D Site in France and Shift Work to UK and US
September 25, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
UK-based GlaxoSmithKline announced yesterday that it will be consolidating its activities at its Les Ulis, France-based research and development activities to two major new sites in Stevenage, UK and to a site near Philadelphia.
The laboratory facility, according to the LeMond article, employed more than 3,500 people with three manufacturing sites in Evreux, Saint-Amand-les-Eaux and in Mayenne.
“The Les Ulis site in France will not be one of GSK’s future R&D satellite sites,” the company reported to FierceBiotech. “We will search for a pharmaceutical organization to acquire the site and its operations, preserving employment whenever possible. This choice does not question the scientific skills and the quality of the work carried out on the Les Ulis site. It reflects the nature of the work there—flexible chemistry that crosses our organization—which we think can be done at our two global hubs.”
Derek Lowe, a blogger with Science Translational Medicine, notes that the labor unions in France will probably make the transition a difficult one. “The company is going to spend a few months looking for a buyer, and if no one steps up, close the site completely. French labor laws, I’m sure, will make that a protracted process, but the end result does not appear to be in any doubt.”
GSK reported an overall drop of 3 percent in total revenue in 2014. Pharmaceutical and vaccine sales in Emerging Markets grew by 5 percent and 1 percent in Japan, but European sales were flat. In the U.S., sales decreased by 10 percent, primarily related to formulary and contract changes to Advair. As a result, the company is going through major restructuring, including its joint venture with Swiss firm Novartis AG and significant layoffs at various locations worldwide, including the U.S. and China.
“As you know, the transaction between GSK and Novartis just closed two weeks ago,” GSK spokeswoman Sarah Alspach said in a statement in March 2015. “There is a significant amount of work that now needs to be done to integrate the Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare businesses, which is our focus for the immediate future…. It’s possible there may be site closures, though the specifics of our vaccines footprint are still being determined and it is too early to comment on when this might be finalized.”
There have even been rumors that Pfizer might acquire GSK. That speculation focuses on diversifying Pfizer’s vaccine and consumer portfolios, taking advantage of a tax inversion by shifting its headquarters to a more tax-friendly company, and dramatically increasing its revenue base for the vaccine and consumer areas.
Some analysts think such a deal is unlikely. However, there is also speculation that other companies might be interested in GSK, including Novartis AG , Roche , and Johnson & Johnson . Pfizer, however, has indicated that a “transformative” merger and acquisition was “highly unlikely.”
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