Talks between Pfizer and a consortium led by property company London & Metropolitan International Developments over the sale of the drug giant’s Sandwich site in Kent have ended without a deal.
In January, Pfizer announced that it had entered into a period of legal exclusivity with London & Metropolitan over selling the renamed Sandwich Discovery Park. A year earlier, the company had said that the facility, which employed 2,400 people, would close but in June 2011 stated that 350 staff would be retained to support the development of products in the mid- and late-stage pipeline.
Then, in November, Pfizer declared that a further 300 jobs would be saved and started looking for buyers for the campus. However, the period of exclusivity has now ended “with parties unfortunately unable to agree to commercial terms”, a company spokesperson told PharmaTimes World News.
Pfizer stresses that it “remains focused on the sale of Discovery Park” and “we have commenced new discussions with interested parties”. The firm is hoping that the site will become an R&D-led multiple-use campus with ‘enterprise zone’ status.
