Merck’s big plans for its R&D efforts on both coasts mean it will close an operation in Pennsylvania, costing some jobs there and in New Jersey while adding jobs elsewhere.
The Kenilworth, NJ-based drugmaker today confirmed a report by the In The Pipeline blog about its plans. In an email, the company said Merck Research Laboratories intends to boost its investment in ”exploratory biology,” specifically in Cambridge, MA, and the San Francisco Bay area.
“Unfortunately, these changes will result in workforce reductions at our Kenilworth and Rahway, N.J. sites and our North Wales, Pa. screening facility as we shift resources and personnel,” the company said.
Merck isn’t providing any specific numbers on what the move will mean for jobs at each operation, but it anticipates that it’ll affect less than 10% of discovery, preclinical and early development personnel, including through both separations and employee moves.
The expansion includes new labs in Cambridge that it expects to open late this year. There will also be an interim facility in South San Francisco opening late this year, with about 100 scientists expected to be recruited there. Merck’s looking for a long-term site in that area.
By Eric Palmer
Source: Fierce Pharma
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
