Bangalore site will close with loss of 168 jobs. Some projects will transfer to UK

Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca (AZ) is quitting its R&D site in Bangalore, India. The closure means 168 employees, researching neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, will lose their jobs as AZ drops its early-stage research into these areas.

The company will retain more advanced projects, such as AZD5847, which is in Phase II trials against TB. It will also outsource the site’s current product development functions, or transfer them to Macclesfield, UK. However, AZ confirmed it will maintain access to its compound library for open innovation projects in neglected diseases.

The closure is part of AZs ongoing restructuring programme, which began last year, will cost a total of 1600 jobs worldwide and see the company’s main UK R&D activities move from Alderley Park to Cambridge. After the closure, AZ will have just over 1000 staff in India, across manufacturing, sales and marketing roles.

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