Japanese owned Sosei R & D Ltd could be moving out of Chesterford
Research Park in the search for smaller premises as the company makes
shock redundancies. A company source confirmed it is in the process of axeing several jobs,
though more detailed information couldn’t be given until completion of
a consulting period with staff.
A company source confirmed it is in the process of making a number of people redundant, though further detailed information couldn’t be given until completion of a consulting period with staff.
The source did say that with a reduced headcount, the company may be looking for new premises at Chesterford Research Park or elsewhere in the region, though it wouldn’t necessarily mean moving out of the UK altogether.
The move is thought to be in part due to a recent decision to suspend patient recruitment for the Phase III clinical trials programme for its Cancer Breakthrough Pain spray (AD 923), pending resolution of a component issue in the delivery device.
The move marks something of a reversal for the former Arakis operation, a biotech rising star established in 2000, which completed a £29 million fundraising in 2004 – thought to be Europe’s largest in two years at the time – before being sold in 2005 to Japanese boiopharmaceutical, Sosei Group, for £106.5m.
Further expansion came only a year ago when Sosei R & D took possession of a new headquarters building at Chesterford and more than doubled its space under a new 15-year lease for a 15,000 sq ft purpose-built R & D office building.
At the time, Sosei was seen as reversing a trend that had seen several overseas acquirers rationalise and downsize following regional acquisitions, most notably Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
With NextGen announcing plans to leave the East of England and focus in the US, it is a turbulent period for local biotech, though not all bad news.
Despite some difficult years, central nervous system specialist, CeNeS, looks set to stay in the region once its acquisition by PAION AG completes and it is the German firm who will look at reducing headcount.
PULSE Scientific, a specialist scientific staffing provider to the UK health and scientific markets, has re-located its scientific offices from London to Chesterford Research Park. The company joins a number of organisations, including Cellcentric and Cambridge Healthcare & Biotech that have recently moved to the park.
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