NEW HAVEN — Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. will move from New Haven to Boston and the company will announce layoffs along with the move to Massachusetts.
In what it calls a plan to “re-align the global organization with its refocused corporate strategy,” the company also announced Tuesday it is cutting 20 percent of its workforce.
The company said about 400 jobs will move to Boston by the middle of next year. The company will maintain a research and development center in New Haven with about 450 employees.
Alexion said the moves are expected to save about $270 million annually, and allow the reinvestment of about $100 million a year into research and development.
Chief Executive Officer Ludwig Hantson says the moves “will create a leaner organization with greater financial flexibility.”
Alexion developed Soliris, a high-priced treatment for two rare genetic disorders.
Three years ago, the company received a $51 million package from the state.
The company announced 210 layoffs in March. The layoffs represent about 7 percent of Alexion’s 3,000-person workforce.
The New Haven company announced in 2012 that it would be relocating from Cheshire. It accepted incentives from the state as part of its First Five economic development program.
Alexion has a manufacturing facility in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Hantson released the following statement on Tuesday morning:
“Alexion’s 25 year history began in New Haven, and Connecticut remains a critical part of our future. We value our relationship with the state of Connecticut and our New Haven-based research team is critical to growing and strengthening Alexion’s leadership in complement, which will allow us to fulfill our mission of serving patients and families with rare and ultra-rare diseases.”
