God Save The Queen: Shire Is Latest To Cut R&D Jobs In The UK

One day after the pharmaceutical industry begrudgingly agreed to a new UK government policy that places caps on prescription drug prices, yet another drugmaker has signaled plans to eliminate part of its workforce in the country. This time, Shire Pharmaceuticals is reportedly reviewing its R&D operations with an eye toward axing 180 employees in Basingstoke, UK. The drugmaker is taking this step as part of an R&D overhaul that involves focusing its early stage drug development primarily on rare diseases, although some of those programs are now being discontinued as a result. In announcing the cuts, Shire (SHPG) insisted that Basingstoke will remain an important location, especially since a “large proportion” of its shareholders are based in the UK (read here). Nonetheless, the move comes just days after Novartis (NVS) disclosed plans to close an R&D facility in the UK that employs approximately 400 people and barely a week after AstraZeneca (AZN) announced that 70 jobs will be eliminated after a laboratory is closed as part of a reorganization that involves shedding 700 employees in the UK (see this and this). And two years ago, Pfizer made plans to close its historic R&D facility in Sandwich (look here). The wave of job cuts comes amid a furious debate over the extent to which the UK is a hospitable environment for investment by the pharmaceutical industry. Drugmakers have increasingly complained that regulators – specifically, the National Institute fo...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs