In an effort to centralize control over its drug discovery programs and contain costs, Novartis is cutting 175 jobs and closing some of its research operations in Switzerland and China. The company will also be relocating its Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore to California, enabling scientists to work on infectious diseases from one location.
“The move is part of a broader, global strategic plan,” Novartis said.
Employing approximately 120,000 employees globally, Novartis will also set up two “‘centers of excellence’ for biotherapeutic research in Basel and Cambridge, which will lead to 73 jobs being axed along with the shuttering of Novartis’ Esbatech facility near Zurich, Switzerland,” Fierce Biotech reports.
According to Reuters: “Novartis also will shut down its Shanghai biologics group, shedding its 18 positions, but will continue with the bulk of activities at its newly opened $1 billion campus in the Chinese city where 500 people work in research and development.”
The restructuring, FirstWord Pharma reports, comes as “part of an overhaul initiated by James Bradner, who was named head of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research last year. The drugmaker announced plans in August to close its cell and gene therapies unit and re-integrate its activities into the larger organization.”
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Filed Under: Drug Discovery
