That big “Alexion” sign at the top of the 100 College St. tower?
It may soon read “AstraZeneca” instead, as the Cambridge-based drugmaker took one big step closer to a $39 billion takeover of the Boston-based biopharmaceutical company — with plans to keep Alexion’s 500 local workers in place. For now.
On Tuesday, as first reported by New Haven Biz and as announced in separate corporate press releases, Alexion and AstraZeneca shareholders both voted in support of the latter’s planned $39 billion acquisition of the former. The two companies first announced that proposed deal last December.
Alexion, a biopharmaceutical company, built a downtown tower at 100 College St. with $41 million in government corporate welfare in 2016 and then moved its headquarters from New Haven to Boston 18 months later. It ultimately paid back $28 million for violating its job-retention promises. Alexion remains in about half of the lab and research space, while Yale rents much of the rest. Alexion’s hallmark drugs, Soliris and Ultomiris, treat blood disorders.
AstraZeneca, meanwhile, is a Cambridge, England-based drugmaker that has developed a Covid-19 vaccine currently in use around the world (though not in the United States).
During Wednesday morning’s city Development Commission meeting, Deputy Economic Development Administrator Carlos Eyzaguirre (pictured) celebrated the recent shareholder votes — and broke some news about the England-based company’s plans for Alexion’s current New Haven-based workforce.
“They agreed to keep the Alexion team in place in New Haven,” he said. “All Alexion employees are staying here.”
Instead of the current, big “Alexion” sign at the top of the 14-story tower, he said, “you’re going to see a big ‘AstraZeneca’ sign out there.”
In a follow-up phone call with the Independent Wednesday, Alexion spokesperson Lisa Taylor said that “our site plans remain unchanged for this year.” Translation: At least through the end of 2021, Alexion’s roughly 500 local workers will be staying put at 100 College St., as Eyzaguirre said.
After this year, however, that number may change.
“We will have a continued presence at the New Haven site,” Taylor said. She declined to say how big that “continued presence” will be post-merger.
Eyzaguirre also suggested that 100 College St. may swap out the big “Alexion” sign atop the 14-story tower for an “AstraZeneca” sign instead. Taylor said she did not have any information about the potential sign-swap mentioned by Eyzaguirre on Wednesday.
“The approval of the acquisition by AstraZeneca shareholders represents a significant step toward combining Alexion’s leadership in complement biology and rare diseases with AstraZeneca’s expertise in precision medicine and growing presence in immunology,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot is quoted as saying in a Tuesday press release. “We look forward to together advancing life-changing science and bringing even more medicines to patients globally.”
“We’re very pleased with today’s affirmative shareholder vote, which brings us one step closer to completing a transaction that will accelerate the combined company’s ability to develop and provide access to life-changing medicines for patients with rare and devastating diseases around the world,” Alexion CEO Ludwig Hantson is quoted as saying in a separate Tuesday press release.
