Date: Mar 12, 2013 Author: Patricia Resende Source: bizjournals (
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GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is shutting Sirtris Pharmaceutical's Cambridge office and moving some of its 60 employees to Philadelphia, according to GSK.
The research and development business work at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals will be folded into GlaksoSmithKline's research and development operations, according to GSK spokesperson Melinda Stubbee.
"Research at Sirtris exploring the biology of sirtuins has been highly successful and now requires the resource and expertise available from our broader drug discovery organization," Stubee told Mass High Tech. "To provide better access to our existing chemistry, biology and pharmacology teams, GSK will be fully integrating Sirtris into our R&D organization and moving it from Cambridge, Massachusetts to our Upper Providence site in Pennsylvania."
Stubbee said approximately 60 people work at Sirtris and while not all roles will move, a set of key positions will be targeted for relocation.
"The remainder of the work being conducted in Cambridge will be transferred to R&D's current chemistry, biology and pharmacology groups residing in Philadelphia," she added.
Glaxo acquired Sirtis Pharma in 2008 for $720 million. In 2010, the company dropped Sirtris' main drug candidate, a potential cancer drug based on resveratrol, a compound found in red wine. Founders Michelle Dipp, Rich Aldrich, Jill Milne and Christoph Westphal have all left GSK for other ventures, including OvaScience, a fertility drug development company that held an over-the-counter IPO in November and Catabasis, which last month reported positive Phase 1 data toward a potential treatment for inflammation.
