2015年4月日讯 /生物谷BIOON/ --在过去的数周时间中，关于葛兰素史克公司新疫苗中心将落户美国马里兰州罗克韦尔市的传言一直甚嚣尘上。不过，最近葛兰素史克公司的官员最终证实了这一消息的可靠性。
公司在完成了与另一制药巨头诺华公司的资产互换后，决定将公司在麻省坎布里奇市和费城的疫苗部门搬迁至该地。目前葛兰素史克公司在全球疫苗研发中心增至三个，另外两个分别设在比利时里克桑萨尔和意大利锡耶纳。
根据葛兰素史克公司公布的消息，公司计划将葛兰素史克公司目前位于费城、坎布里奇和罗克韦尔的疫苗机构进行合并形成一个新的疫苗中心，这个新疫苗中心将集新疫苗开发、临床研究等功能于一体。
去年，葛兰素史克公司和诺华公司两大巨头签订了一项价值数十亿美元的资产互换协议，葛兰素史克公司将自己的肿瘤研发部门出售给诺华公司；作为回报，葛兰素史克公司获得了诺华公司的疫苗部门。这一交易被外界解读为优势互补，同时也给两巨头机会退出其不占优势的研究领域。而经过这一整合，葛兰素史克和诺华公司将分别扩大其在疫苗和肿瘤研发领域的优势。
在过去的一段时间内，葛兰素史克公司遭受了一系列的研发失败，这也使得公司的销售预期不尽如人意。在这一情况下葛兰素史克公司被迫进行裁员重组计划，削减在费城和北卡大约1000个工作岗位，这其中大部分均为研发人员。
详细英文报道：
GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) is setting up a global vaccines hub in Rockville, MD, in the wake of its big asset swap with Novartis ($NVS). And the move will force hundreds of staffers in Cambridge, MA, and Philadelphia to either look for a relocation package or exit the company.
Rumors about GlaxoSmithKline's plans for vaccines have been circulating in the Cambridge area for weeks now. In mid-March GSK told FierceBiotech that no final decisions had been made about its vaccines sites, but mid-day today a spokesperson confirmed that the group's future lies in Rockville.
The pharma giant says it will now have three global vaccines R&D centers, "complementing the company's existing global R&D centres in Rixensart, Belgium, and in Siena, Italy, a site which GSK recently acquired from Novartis in March 2015."
GlaxoSmithKline "will consolidate vaccines R&D activities currently conducted at other GSK sites including in Philadelphia, PA, and Cambridge, MA, into one centralized location," the company noted in a release. "Key late stage development programs, as well as vaccine discovery and new platform technology development, will be led from Rockville."
GSK says that each group accounts for about 150 staffers.
"In the coming weeks we'll have discussions with employees about the possibility of relocating to Rockville," a spokesperson tells FierceBiotech. "In addition we're still in the process of working through organizational design and business needs; this will help us understand the impact this consolidation will have on employees."
"As the global vaccines leader, GSK is on the cutting edge of vaccine development," noted Luc Debruyne, president of the vaccines unit. "Following the acquisition of Novartis's global vaccines business and in recognition of the vaccines knowledge and expertise in the United States, we are pleased to expand our US presence with the creation of a world-class vaccines R&D centre. This will drive innovation, and enhance our capabilities for new vaccine discoveries that protect the US and public health around the world."
GSK and Novartis agreed last year to swap assets in a multibillion-dollar deal, with Novartis taking on GSK's oncology portfolio and GSK taking the vaccines group. For each, the swap represented a chance to exit an arena that had fallen short on expectations while beefing up work in fields in which they already dominate.
The vaccines move is the latest step in a major overhaul of GSK's U.S. operations. The company has already detailed plans to ax more than 1000 jobs--mostly in R&D--in North Carolina and Philadelphia. The reorganization comes after a slate of new product approvals failed to generate the kind of revenue that had been expected at GSK, forcing a rethink on how it allocates a multibillion-dollar R&D budget.