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Roche, the swiss based pharma giant announced that it will be closing Nutley NJ R&D unit as part of its R&D restructuring plans. Roche at Nutley is a 127 acre campus with about 600 scientists working on cancer and metabolic diseases and it is located just 15 miles from New York city. The shut down of New Jersey unit will result in overall lay off of about 1000 employees.

Roche said the research activities at the Nutley NJ unit will be consolidated at Roche units in Switzerland and Germany. The consolidation will just increase a measly 80 jobs at these locations.

Roche said it will be opening a new translational research center in US east coast with head count of about 240 employees. The research center will play a role in Roche’s US-based clinical trials, and support and maintain Roche interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Roche also announced Jean-Jacques Garaud, head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development is quitting Roche effective from end of this month. In the press release announcing the shut down/lay off , Roche CEO Severin Schwan

Our R&D programmes were exceptionally successful over the last 18 months, with 24 out of 28 late-stage clinical trials delivering positive results. The overall number of programs in clinical development has grown substantially. The planned consolidation of our research and early development organization and the refocusing of R&D activities in Switzerland and Germany will free up resources that we can invest in these promising clinical programs while also increasing our overall efficiency. In its 80-year old history, our Nutley site has made significant contributions to Roche’s success. We will do everything we can to find socially responsible solutions for the employees affected by these changes.



