Millennium overhauls operations. (Markets: Life Sciences).(Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc)

Chemical Market Reporter, June, 2003 by Krause, Carey

MILLENNIUM Pharmaceuticals Inc. will trim its global work force by 26 percent and consolidate operations under a restructuring plan for profitability by 2006. The move comes on the heels of a critical Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its cancer drug Velcade (bortezomib). Millennium will reduce its overall head count to roughly 1,700 from 2,300 by the end of 2004.

The cuts will primarily come from the research end--many in connection to early-stage discovery collaborations. The company will phase out R&D bases in South San Francisco, Calif., and Cambridge, UK, and concentrate R&D into a single Cambridge, Mass., location. "In the current environment, we need to focus more sharply on the most attractive opportunities in our pipeline,"...

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