Novartis UK proposes slashing Horsham site operations; 500 job losses

In another blow to the UK pharmaceutical sector, the local subsidiary of Swiss drug major Novartis (NOVN: VX) announced that it will initiate consultation on proposals to restructure operations at its Horsham, West Sussex, facility, which could mean job cuts of some 500.

The proposals are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to align resources to better respond to patients and customers in a challenging health care marketplace, said the company, which last year launched a strategic overview of its diversified health care portfolio and outlined initiatives to improve efficacy in manufacturing and marketing, as well as focussing on specialty drugs rather than general practice medicines (The Pharma Letter November 18, 2010). The news also come just weeks after US drugs behemoth Pfizer announced plans to close its R&D facility at Sandwich, Kent, with a loss of around 2,400 jobs (TPLs passim). Britain’s own drug majors, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, have also announced closures and cutbacks at various units around the country.

“Novartis is continuously evaluating its resource allocation to ensure that the organization is highly flexible and able to proactively adapt to external challenges which best meet the needs of its customers,” said Sue Webb, general manager, UK & Ireland and country president of Novartis. “With significant changes in health care systems aimed to contain or cut cost, this critical assessment and the subsequent potential changes to the Novartis UK organization are key to maintain significant investment in innovative drugs and our research efforts in the UK,” she added.