Chinese firm throws lifeline to Pfizer UK plant workers
Aerial vew of Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent
China’s Asymchem Laboratories has agreed to take over the operation of a Pfizer UK manufacturing facility in Sandwich, Kent, safeguarding dozens of jobs.
The Tianjin-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) will maintain the pilot facility for the production of small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), along with a portion of Pfizer’s development laboratories at Sandwich Discovery Park.
Pfizer said last year that it planned to cut around 500 positions at Sandwich and other parts of the UK as part of a major cost-cutting drive that at the time was intended to save $3.5 billion in costs by the end of this year and was later expanded to a target of $4 billion.
The pharmaceutical sciences small molecule (PSSM) operations in Sandwich bore the brunt of its cutback objectives in the UK, mainly affecting scientific and administrative roles.
Yesterday, the pharma group said in a financial regulatory filing (PDF) in the US that it had now increased that target to $5.5 billion by the end of 2027.
Sandwich has been a key location for Pfizer in the UK since the 1950s, when it was set up to produce antibiotics. Since then, it has been the source of many new drugs, notably including erectile dysfunction therapy Viagra (sildenafil).
In a statement, Asymchem said it will start operating the development labs next month, with the API plant following in August. The site is expected to employ approximately 100 individuals by the end of 2024, “including many staff previously employed by Pfizer,” it added.
The plant will be Asymchen’s first manufacturing location in Europe and will eventually be upgraded to include the capacity to produce peptides and oligonucleotides, along with continuous flow and biocatalysis technology to improve its sustainability. It will join a community of more than 160 companies in a designated Life Sciences Opportunity Zone at the Sandwich site.
“We are excited to become a part of the European pharma manufacturing community,” said the Chinese CDMO’s chairman and chief executive, Dr Hao Hong. “Meeting the needs of our clients in bringing manufacturing into the Western market will continue to be part of our long-term strategy to meet overall global business demands.”
Pfizer, meanwhile, said in its new filing that the additional $1.5 billion in cuts – which will have a one-time charge of around $1.7 billion – would focus on “operational efficiencies, network structure changes, and product portfolio enhancements.” There is no word yet on job losses in connection with the new round.
The drive comes on the back of a steep decline in sales of Pfizer’s COVID-19 medicines, including the Comirnaty vaccine and Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir), which the company has attempted to counter with the $43 billion takeover of antibody-drug conjugate specialist Seagen, which closed in December.
