AZ to close two facilities in Colorado

15-Jan-2019 - Last updated on 15-Jan-2019 at 11:35 GMT

(Image: Getty/ComicSans)

The UK company will close two facilities in Boulder and Longmont eliminating 210 positions.

AstraZeneca will sell its two sites in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado, and operations will be discontinued until the sale is final.

A spokesperson for AstraZeneca told us that the decision will aim to “increase efficiencies in [its] global biologics supply chain.”

“No further decisions have been made regarding the future of the site”, the spokesperson continued.

AZ bought the Boulder facility from Amgen in 2015, followed by the second Longmont space in 2016.

At the time, the company was expanding its biologics manufacturing capabilities in order to meet expected commercial production. It had planned to begin operations in 2017, in which the Longmont site would be used as a warehouse to provide support to the Boulder facility.

The spokesperson confirmed that neither site is licensed for commercial operations. Subsequently, the company does not need to transfer manufacturing supply to another facility.

The investment into its biologics manufacturing capabilities occurred at a similar time to the $200m (€160m) investment into its facility in Frederick, Maryland, and $285m biologics plant in Sweden.