Sanofi to Close Manufacturing Plant in Newcastle

Pharma giant Sanofi has announced to close its manufacturing facility in Newcastle, UK, culminating in the loss of approximately 450 jobs. The plant produces drugs including Plavix for UK and European markets and is expected to close by 2015.

The move comes as the company is forced to contend with European health spending cuts and generic competition to Plavix, the top-selling blood thinner, which is manufactured at the site. Sanofi previously announced reductions to its R&D staff numbers in September 2011, confirming that it was looking to reduce its staff allocation from 13,000 to around 10,000.

The manufacturing facility in Newcastleonly opened three years ago, with Sanofi investing £100m at the time.

A company statement regarding the closure claimed that generic competition and other factors had resulted in a fall of demand and production volumes. "The proposal is being considered in the context of an adverse economic climate and the challenging pharmaceutical market in Europe," the statement added.