Sanofi restructures at Vitry, with job losses

French drug major Sanofi-Aventis has launched a major restructuring of its Vitry-sur-Seine production plant. It will be totally reconfigured over the next four years with 350 jobs being lost. All manufacture will be halted with the exception of the cancer agent Taxotere (docetaxel). Production of active principles for antibiotics and analgesics will be transferred to other sites in France. The reasons for the changes include excessively high production costs and pollution problems caused by the plant's proximity to residential areas. A total of 100.0 million euros ($158.4 million) will be invested at Vitry to set up biotechnology drug production which will eventually make agents currently in development, including aflibercept, a cancer drug candidate from US affiliate Regeneron.