GSK has revealed it will shut its main research and development hub in Stevenage and open a new flagship site in Cambridge with aims to slash costs by £1.9 billion to fund investment plans.
Around 1,800 staff work at the R&D site in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, but GSK has said the new 300,000sq ft centre in Cambridge will house more than 1,000 scientists, with a phased move for staff by 2029.
The group said some staff currently based at Stevenage will also move to its nearby Ware site, which is set to be upgraded.
GSK is hoping all Stevenage workers will relocate to either Cambridge or Ware.
The group is spending £400 million over the next three years on the changes.
It revealed in half-year results that annual costs are set to be cut by £1.9 billion over the next three years to fund the investment, ramp up R&D and help offset the hit when one of its key HIV treatments – dolutegravir – comes off its patent.
It is understood there will be some roles affected, such as in support services, but GSK did not confirm numbers.
Luke Miels, chief executive at GSK, said: “To fund investment in the late-stage portfolio and R&D, we are starting a three-year cost savings programme to simplify the organisation and to reallocate capital and resources.
“Savings will primarily be reinvested, with some used to improve margins and profitability in the dolutegravir patent expiry period.”
The new R&D centre is being developed by Prologis and is within the wider Cambridge Biomedical Campus – one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
Mr Miels said: “This investment will accelerate our R&D and help us deliver new, competitive products.
“It integrates GSK further into one of the world’s leading centres of knowledge and demonstrates the attractiveness of the UK’s life sciences ecosystem.”
Tony Wood, chief scientific officer at GSK, added: “The campus provides exceptional opportunities for collaboration.
“With our existing connections and experience, we see this move as a catalyst for faster, bolder medicines discovery by accelerating the science that matters most for GSK’s next wave of medicines.”
GSK has already been cutting jobs at its Stevenage site as part of an ongoing overhaul of the global R&D division.
In February, it confirmed around 350 R&D jobs were going across the US and UK.
More than 2,500 workers were based at the Stevenage site at the time.
The FTSE 100 firm’s interim figures showed first half underlying core operating profit rose 8% on a constant currency basis to £5.45 billion, with turnover up 5% to £16.04 billion.
On a statutory basis, half-year total earnings fell 31% to £2.77 billion.
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