In Further Consolidation, GlaxoSmithKline Shutters Pittsburgh Office, Eliminating 274 Jobs

In Further 

Consolidation, GlaxoSmithKline Shutters Pittsburgh Office, Eliminating 274 Jobs
April 17, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

GlaxoSmithKline , with global headquarters in London, England, announced Wednesday that it is closing its regional headquarters in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. As a result, 274 jobs will be cut.

Some of the affected workers are being offered the chance to move to GSK’s Parsippany, N.J. location. “I cannot say every single person will be offered an opportunity” to relocate, said company spokeswoman Malesia Dunn in a statement.

The Pittsburg division manufactures several products, including Aquafresh toothpaste and Tums antacids.

In October 2014, GSK announced significant restructuring plans over the next five years with the goal of reducing costs by £1 billion.

Over the course of a nine-month period, the company reported a significant 37 percent drop in operating profit. Some of the drop is connected to U.S. pricing pressures, mainly on Advair, a top-selling drug for asthma and COPD. Advair’s principle competitors are AstraZeneca PLC ’s Symbiocort and Merck & Co. ’s Dulera.

In April 2014 GSK and Novartis agreed to create a new consumer health business. Novartis AG bought GSK’s oncology product lines for $14.5 billion, with a possible $1.5 billion coming in depending upon hitting developmental milestones. GSK bought Novartis’s vaccines business, except the flu vaccine component, for $7.1 billion.

Earlier this month, on April 2, GSK announced that as part of the Novartis-GSK vaccines deal, it was establishing a new global center for vaccines research and development in Rockville, Md.

It will be one of three global vaccines research and development centers, the other two in Rixensart, Belgium and in Siena, Italy. As part of that shift, the company will consolidate vaccines-related activities in Philadelphia and Cambridge, Mass.

“As the global vaccines leader, GSK is on the cutting edge of vaccine development,” said Luc Debruyne, president of GSK Vaccines in a statement.

“Following the acquisition of Novartis’s global vaccines business and in recognition of the vaccines knowledge and expertise in the United States, we are pleased to expand our U.S. presence in the creation of a world-class vaccines R&D centre. This will drive innovation, and enhance our capabilities for new vaccine discoveries that protect the U.S. and public health around the world.”

GSK has had a presence in the Pittsburgh area for 40 years. Moon Township business leaders are understandably concerned about ripple effects caused by the shuttering of the facility. “I think it’s going to depend on what leaves with them,” said Bernadette Puzzuole, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce in a statement. “How many vendors will be affected, how many employees will be moving, how many houses will go on the market and how many of those houses are in Moon?”

Joseph Wise, a member of the Moon board of supervisors, however, indicated that he felt the area was still a good site for businesses with its proximity to the Parkway West and Pittsburgh International Airport. “I remain bullish on Moon Township. We’ve fielded interest from other companies from outside who are interested in moving their headquarters or some of their facilities here.”



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