Pfizer UK (officially Pfizer Ltd) is the principal subsidiary of the
multinational pharmaceutical
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...
company
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
in the United Kingdom.
Pfizer UK has its business headquarters in
Tadworth
Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...
, Surrey, major offices in
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
, Berkshire, research and development facilities in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, Cambridgeshire and
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
, Kent, and a manufacturing and distribution site in
Havant
Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...
, Hampshire.
History
1952–2000
To satisfy regulations then in place in the United Kingdom on the importation of medicines, Pfizer established a compounding operation in
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
, Kent, in the Autumn of 1952.
Pfizer acquired an 80-acre site on the outskirts of Sandwich in 1954 to enable the expansion of its Kent-based activities.
[ In 1955, Pfizer established an animal-feed plant at the Sandwich site and entered the UK non-prescription market for the first time.] An Agricultural Division was opened at the Sandwich site in 1957, and in 1964, Pfizer acquired land adjacent to its existing site in Sandwich, known as the 'West Site'.[ Pfizer UK established 'Pfizer Central Research' in 1971 with the mission to discover new pharmaceutical, chemical and agricultural products for Pfizer's worldwide operations.]
Pfizer UK was presented with the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement Queens is a borough of New York City.
Queens or Queen's may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Queens (group), a Polish musical group
* "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018
* ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984
* "Queens", a song by C ...
in 1979, in recognition of the outstanding contribution made to tropical medicine by the medicine Mansil (oxamniquine), which had been developed at the Sandwich site.[ Feldene (piroxicam), a ]non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are members of a therapeutic drug class which reduces pain, decreases inflammation, decreases fever, and prevents blood clots. Side effects depend on the specific drug, its dose and duration of ...
developed jointly by the Sandwich site and Pfizer's R&D facility in Groton, United States, was launched in 1980.[ In 1984, a third phase of buildings was completed at the Sandwich site.][ The oral antifungal drug Diflucan (fluconazole), which had been discovered at the Sandwich site, was launched in 1988.][ In December 1997, Pfizer announced an investment of £109 million in a new research facility at the Sandwich site, creating 1,000 jobs.
]
2000–2010
In April 2001, Pfizer UK received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for the discovery and development of the erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...
drug Viagra (sildenafil).[ In 2002, Pfizer UK relocated its headquarters and sales and marketing functions to new offices at Walton Oaks, near ]Tadworth
Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...
, Surrey.[ In June 2003, Pfizer UK began offering employees at the Sandwich site the option of leaving work at noon on Fridays if their work was completed. In September 2007, it was announced that Pfizer UK would close its manufacturing plant at Sandwich, with the loss of around 400 jobs. Dr Ken Richardson was inducted into the US ]National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also opera ...
in May 2008 for his role in the discovery of Diflucan whilst working at Pfizer UK. Construction of an £87 million link-road between the Sandwich site and the A299 was approved by HM Government in August 2009.
2010–present
On 1 February 2011, Pfizer announced it would be closing the entire research and development facility at Sandwich within 18–24 months, as part of a company-wide plan to exit certain therapeutic areas including allergy and respiratory research, which was based at Sandwich. In its announcement, Pfizer stated that most of the 2,400 workers at the site would be made redundant, although it hoped to transfer several hundred positions to other sites or to Pfizer partner companies. On 4 February 2011, it was announced that the Science and Technology Select Committee
The Science and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the Innovation, Universities, Sci ...
would be requesting oral evidence from representatives of Pfizer and the Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts
David Linsay Willetts, Baron Willetts, (born 9 March 1956) is a British politician and life peer. From 1992 to 2015, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire. He served as Minister of State for ...
, on the closure of the Sandwich site.
In April 2011, Pfizer established Neusentis in Cambridge, intended to operate as a biotech-like unit combining research in pain, sensory disorders, and regenerative medicine. Neusentis acquired biopharmaceutical company Icagen in November 2011.[
In June 2011, Pfizer renamed the Sandwich site 'Discovery Park' and put it on the market for sale. In the same month, Pfizer announced it would retain 350 jobs at Discovery Park, subsequently increased to 650 in November 2011.] In August 2011, it was announced that the Pfizer site at Sandwich would become an enterprise zone with discounted business rates, easier planning rules, and access to superfast broadband
Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...
. Pfizer sold the freehold to the Discovery Park site to Discovery Park Ltd, a private consortium, in August 2012. As part of the sale, Pfizer agreed to take a lease of around 250,000 sq ft of offices and laboratories at the site.[
In August 2016, Pfizer acquired a portfolio of anti-infective medicines from AstraZeneca.
]
Operations
Discovery Park, Sandwich
Around 650 Pfizer employees are based at Discovery Park in Sandwich.[ Pfizer operations at Discovery Park are focused on the delivery of the company's mid- to late-stage portfolio.][ Activities at the site include Pharmaceutical Sciences; Medical Regulatory; Business Units; Quality Assurance; and Business Support Functions (Procurement & Operation, HR, Finance, Patents).][ There is also a pilot plant production and solid and liquid dose manufacturing facility at the site.][
]
Neusentis, Cambridge
Neusentis
was a biotech-like unit based in Cambridge which was focused on research in pain, sensory disorders, regenerative medicine, and auditory and visual disorders linked to ion channels.[ Neusentis was responsible for Pfizer's first ]stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
clinical study, initiated in 2011 for patients with AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...
.[ Pfizer announced in December 2015 that it had decided to close the Neusentis unit with the loss of around 120 jobs. However, the Devices Centre of Excellence (DCoE) remained in operation.]
Awards
In 1991, Pfizer UK was presented with the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement Queens is a borough of New York City.
Queens or Queen's may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Queens (group), a Polish musical group
* "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018
* ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984
* "Queens", a song by C ...
in recognition of its discovery of Diflucan
Fluconazole is an antifungal medication used for a number of fungal infections. This includes candidiasis, blastomycosis, coccidiodomycosis, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, dermatophytosis, and pityriasis versicolor. It is also used to prevent ...
. In 1993, Pfizer UK was awarded the Queen's Award for Export Achievement.[ In 1997 and 2000, Pfizer UK was awarded the Queen's Award for International Trade.][
]
See also
*List of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United Kingdom
This is a list of manufacturers and suppliers of pharmaceuticals with operations in the United Kingdom.
Note: the activities of the parent companies of many of the companies listed below are not restricted solely to the United Kingdom. For example ...
References
External links
Pfizer UK
Discovery Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfizer UK
Surrey
Pfizer
Pharmaceutical companies of the United Kingdom
Reigate and Banstead
Science and technology in Surrey
British subsidiaries of foreign companies