Shire to relocate 500 employees in formation of new hub in Lexington, Massachusetts

Following US drugmaker AbbVie’s (NYSE: ABBV) recent abandonment of a $53 billion takeover offer, Ireland-headquartered drugmaker Shire (LSE: SHP) has announced it is to relocate more than 500 positions from Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania to Massachusetts.

The company is to establish Lexington, MA, as Shire’s operational headquarters, and says this change is a continuation of its ‘One Shire’ efficiency program. It expects the simplification of operations to increase efficiencies and generate around $25 million in annual savings from 2016. Shire also hopes that the relocation will enable greater alignment between research and development teams, and strengthen collaboration.

Flemming Ornskov, chief executive of Shire, said: “Chesterbrook, the greater Philadelphia area, and the talent of our employees based there have been instrumental to Shire’s growth and evolution. We’ve made the decision to consolidate our US operations in the Massachusetts area to streamline operations and drive further efficiencies in the way we run our business and serve patients. Shire has a great opportunity to combine our Chesterbrook and Lexington talent with the leading biotech resources in the Massachusetts area, and we consider ready access to these resources an important element in the future growth of our company.”