Medical researcher Arqule Inc. will lay off 125 employees as it shifts its focus from chemistry services to cancer-related projects. The move comes less than two months after the Woburn, Mass., company was notified that drug giant Pfizer Inc. was terminating a multimillion-dollar chemistry-collaboration agreement between the two companies. That deal, first agreed upon in December 2001, is scheduled to end in May. In exchange for producing around 160,000 synthetic compounds for Pfizer annually, Arqule reaped around $50 million in payments during each year of the contract. The local firm stands to receive another $20 million from Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - News) in relation to the agreement’s termination. Arqule said the layoff will cost it around $2.7 million in severance and related benefit payments to workers affected by the cuts. The payments to each laid-off worker will vary based on their prior salaries and tenure with the company. As of March, Arqule (Nasdaq: ARQL - News) employed 270 people in Woburn, home to its chemistry-services business, and in Norwood. The cuts come roughly a year after Arqule’s last restructuring, when 53 workers were terminated within its chemistry divisions and administrative roles. Published January 26, 2006 by the Boston Business Journal
