Bristol Myers-Squibb closing Wallingford facility, leaving Connecticut Pharmaceutical giant to focus on facilities in other parts of the U.S.

Pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers-Squibb is pulling out of Connecticut entirely by the end of 2018, company and state officials announced Tuesday.

The drugmaker had announced in summer 2015 that it was moving its research and development operations out of state from Research Drive in Wallingford. But New York City-based Bristol Myers-Squibb officials had said they were considering keeping as many as 500 office workers in Connecticut, possibly in Wallingford.

That glimmer of hope was extinguished by the company’s announcement today.

“We are in the process of evaluating the roles and work within our functions based on changes to the needs of our business, our geographic presence and broader decisions in support of our company’s transformation,” Ken Dominski, a company spokesman, said in a statement. “Following the close of Wallingford, we will no longer have a site in Connecticut.”

Dominski said via email that the company was unable to provide the specific number of Connecticut jobs that would be lost. “As we announced, many of the roles will transition to other U.S. locations,” he wrote. “Decisions will be made over the next several years.”

The company’s relocation of research and development jobs out of Connecticut that was announced in 2015 cost the state 400 jobs,

Town economic development officials had aggressively marketed other office space in the town to Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mayor William Dickinson Jr. said there was even discussion that the company’s office workers might remain in a portion of the Research Drive property if a buyer could be found that was willing to lease some of the space back to the pharmaceutical company.

Wallingford Economic Development Commission Chairman Joe Mirra said he was “very disappointed” by the company’s decision.

“I was looking forward to keeping 500 jobs in Connecticut, but corporate America does what corporate America does,” Mirra said. “I know one thing: It’s going to reduce the number of new drugs coming into the market.”

Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith expressed sympathy for the Connecticut workers who will be losing their jobs.

“We have been in contact with Bristol-Myers Squibb officials regarding options to retain a substantial presence in the state,” Smith said in a statement. “However it became apparent during our recent meetings that this decision was part of a broader company-wide restructuring that would impact operations across the U.S.”

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, said Bristol-Myers Squibb should not have chosen to move these jobs.

“I strongly urge Bristol-Myers Squibb to reconsider this direction and if it will not keep these jobs here in Wallingford, the company must work to ensure that it does everything possible to help its workers.” DeLauro said in a statement. “My office has reached out to the Connecticut Department of Labor to ask them to brief workers about the benefits and services available, and my office is ready to assist employees during this difficult time.”

Bristol Myers-Squibb’s pull-out from Connecticut is being done to strengthen its research and development facilities in Central New Jersey, the San Francisco Bay area of California and in the Boston area, according to company officials.

The company is developing a state-of-the-art research facility in Cambridge to modernize facilities that it already has there. It is also expanding its Redwood City, California, research campus.

Bristol Myers-Squibb already has opened Princeton Pike facility in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

The company is also making investments is the following locations:

• New construction at its New Brunswick, New Jersey, facility to support biologics development.

• A continued expansion of its biologics campus in Devens, Massachusetts.

But Wallingford is not alone in losing Bristol Myers-Squibb jobs.

The company also announced it intends to initiate a phased, multi-year closure of its Hopewell, New Jersey, site by mid-2020 and plans to not renew its lease at a facility in Seattle in 2019. Company officials said they expect many of the roles from Wallingford, Hopewell and Seattle be moved to other U.S. locations.

“These important changes to our U.S. geographic footprint will ensure we have the structural, operational and financial flexibility to deliver as effectively as possible on our mission for patients,” Dr. Giovanni Caforio, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to make the right investments to continue to deliver on the promise of our pipeline and to bring transformational medicines to patients, today and in the future.”

Call Luther Turmelle at 203-680-9388.