What's likely to happen in R&D

Well, with the continued poor sales and financial reports, negative news from China, lost R&D funds with billions used to make non-productive acquisitions, lack of uptake with new pulmonary drugs, sale of oncology assets, failure of darapladib, etc, when will the next shoe drop to R&D? Consolidations? Cuts to research and/or development projects? Poor bonus (for Witty too?)?

What might ultimately happen to the company: continued downsize? merge? split out consumer and then be bought out?

Something has to happen, so what do ya'll think?

 

What's going on with the expansion of the UP site that was announced a couple years ago? There's some scuttlebutt going around, that a significant number of areas of R&D will be centralized in the UK, which will reduce headcount in the US, thereby making the expansion unnecessary.

 

Most of PTS and IMS are now in scope since the mature oncology assets are going to Novartis. Late stage assets are undergoing critical review and budgets are slashed so not likely to progress many studies next year. Get ready to ride it to the bottom.

 

Let the bloodbath begin.

Fire sale on used employees.

The entire RTP campus to close.

 

The oncology strategy makes little sense. Yet, they keep an "eye" effort, a "skin" group, that do and produce nothing except jobs for specific people.

 

So the rumor running around today is that the Evidence Based Formulation group (more recently called Emergent Market R&D) will, in the not-too-distant future, "cease to exist". An add-on to the rumor is that some/most of their resources will be made available to the 2nd Gen / Process Robustness efforts. There's something like 35 staff associated with EBF, if my memory cells are working correctly today.

 

It's Election day, can we vote Baldoni out of his position?

 

That's Emperor Baldoni to you.

 

Patrick V. making the rounds, someone asked him what he saw as R&D's part for Sir Andy's 1 billion savings --> 20% FTE loss, accompanied by site reductions/closures. Better hold onto your ass, it may be a rough ride.

 

What percent of total R&D heacount is at RTP?

 

The odds makers are predicting the news will come out next week (w/c 17-Nov), with the most money pointing towards Tuesday.

 

Cut in the US. Keep and somewhat invest in the UK. Consistent with the Witty approach to make the company more & more Brit-centric. If only the UK would buy/sell drugs and reimburse as the US.

My guess: more trimming of oncology, cutting non-productive areas such as the ocular group and VPOC, reorganization of external alliance and collaborations to trim staff, making the preclinical groups smaller since there are fewer projects to support, perhaps eliminating the "metabolic" section now at UM.

Sad, sad situation to anticipate, to see, to experience, again and again. Unfortunately, it's hard to see a sustainable turn around.

 

PV will appear in RTP on Dec 3 to announce entire site will be closed...the end.

 

1st Dec?! Tuesday morning looks clear in my diary.

 

There was a lot of buzz about an announcement to be made on Tuesday 18-Nov, but then last Thursday it went silent - - - so it may get delayed.

 

The fire bomb is set for December 1, 2014

 

Follow this GSK thread for more discussion - http://www.cafepharma.com/boards/showthread.php?t=570400

Sounds like US will take the brunt, big numbers mean site closures so be ready. Where will PV be on Dec-3???

 

Don't be so sure that the US will take a bigger
hit than the UK. The US dollar is set to drastically take
a hit in December when China announces to the IMF
it's gold inventory - which by extension will expose
US actual inventories. This should make us the UK's
new China - cheaper labor - unless of course
the Uk has an even bleaker inventory profile.

 

Sources confirm that PV to originate broadcast from RTP on 3-Dec. Read that as site to be hammered maybe closed soon with R&D operations consolidated to PA. With no R&D presence at a site the other dominoes will fall quickly. Plans have been in the works for months, not weeks - be prepared for shock and awe...a sad day to come.

 

Stiefel will be closed. RTP Pilot plant will close. The rest of R&D in RTP is closing.