Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

May 14, 2021

Alexion expects ‘continued presence’ in Elm City after merger

PHOTO | Contributed Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease's research facility at 100 College St. in New Haven.
By Natalie Missakian

Alexion Pharmaceuticals will keep its New Haven team in place following its merger with drug giant AstraZeneca -- at least through the end of this year, according to a regulatory filing.

“All current Alexion site plans will remain unchanged in 2021,’ according to a transition planning update filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6. 

“As we move into 2022, you can expect a continued presence in the New Haven site,” the update continued.

Alexion spokeswoman Lisa Taylor would not elaborate Thursday on how large the New Haven presence might be, or say whether any of the more than 500 positions at its 100 College St. research facility would be cut or relocated. 

The New Haven Independent first reported the news about AstraZeneca’s New Haven site plans, quoting comments made by Deputy Economic Development Administrator Carlos Eyzaguirre during a city development commission meeting Wednesday.

“With any merger it’s always an issue of how many employees will stay,” Eyzaguirre said in a phone interview with New Haven Biz Thursday. “We’re working closely with [AstraZeneca] to keep as many as possible here.”

Eyzaguirre said AdvanceCT, the state’s business recruitment arm, is also working with the pharma giant “to make sure that Connecticut and New Haven [provide] a welcoming environment for their employees.”

AstraZeneca has previously announced it would keep Alexion’s headquarters in Boston, where it moved from New Haven in 2018, and that the company will be known as “Alexion, the AstraZeneca Rare Disease Unit.”

In the recent SEC filing, the company also said it will keep its Ireland sites as a manufacturing hub, and that it intends to maintain a presence in greater metropolitan areas where Alexion currently operates.

“Pending public health guidance, it is our goal for sites to open again later in the year to encourage in-person collaboration,” the filing said. The company said it would share information on a “workplace flexibility policy” prior to the deal closing.

Shareholders for Alexion and AstraZeneca approved the $39 billion acquisition on Tuesday. The deal, first announced last December, was cleared by the Federal Trade Commission in April.

It is expected to close during the third quarter of this year, pending additional regulatory approvals.

Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF