Celltech closes proteomics unit
its proteomics unit in early 2004 at a cost of £5.5million (€7.8m),
giving up on the search to find a buyer for the business.
This announcement, which comes at the same time as a decision to close a facility in Seattle, USA, represents an effective exit by the company from drug target discovery.
The news comes hard on the heels of a decision by Pfizer - its partner for a new arthritis drug called CDP 870 - to ask for a renegotiation of the terms of the alliance.
Last week, Celltech's shares lost a fifth of their value after the US drug major postponed the start of additional Phase III trials of the drug while the discusses financial terms and waits for the results of two ongoing pivotal studies of the drug, which acts by inhibiting tumour necrosis factor alpha.
A number of drugs are already on the market that treat arthritis via this mechanism. Sales of CDP 870 are tipped at be in the $500 million to $1 billion range at peak, which is a lot for Celltech but a relatively minor product for Pfizer with annual sales of $32 billion.
"Whilst the quality of scientific research at the Seattle site has been exceptional, it has proven challenging to generate a sustained flow of novel targets from a relatively small group," said Celltech CEO Goran Ando in a statement. The company said it will now focus on licensing-in targets from other companies and academia. It acquired six noveloncology targets following its acquisition of Oxford GlycoSciences earlier this year.
The UK company is expecting to accrue annual savings of £11.5 million from the closure, and said it would reinvest this in advancing projects in its early-stage development pipeline.
Celltech has also been in the news of late on rumours that it may be the target of a takeover bid from Switzerland's Serono.
