Thermo Fisher Restructures Viral Vector Operations with 160 Layoffs

Thermo Fisher Scientific is restructuring its viral vector services, resulting in the closure of its Cambridge, Massachusetts facility and the elimination of 160 jobs, as part of a broader strategy to consolidate operations and enhance efficiency in viral vector manufacturing.

Thermo acquired the Cambridge site in 2019 through a USD1.7 bn purchase of Brammer Bio, a viral vector producer, but plans to transfer the services from the Cambridge facility to its other locations, including those in Massachusetts and Belgium.

The following article originally appeared in Fierce Pharma.

In a bid to streamline viral vector manufacturing, Thermo Fisher is charting another round of layoffs this year—and mothballing a Massachusetts factory along the way.

Thermo Fisher is cutting a total of 160 jobs across three different viral vector facilities in Cambridge, Lexington and Plainville, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification alert filed in Massachusetts late last week.

The layoff round is expected to kick off on Jan. 6 and could run through Nov. 6, 2026, NBC Boston reported, citing a detailed letter to the state that was shared with the Boston Business Journal on Friday.

In tandem with the staff reduction, Thermo Fisher also plans to shutter its facility in Lexington, a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma over email.

“We have decided to expand operations in our Plainville, MA site to extend the benefits of the recently built state-of-the-art facility and center of excellence for viral vector development and manufacturing capabilities to more customers,” the spokesperson explained.

As part of the plan, the life sciences giant aims to merge operations at the closing Lexington plant with its newer facility in Plainville, which debuted in 2022.

The company plans to offer job transition support to affected staffers and assist them in finding new employment opportunities, the spokesperson added.

Thermo fisher originally invested $180 million in the 290,000-square-foot Plainville site, which was slated to employ 300 staffers at the time of opening. The facility offers viral vector services from process development to commercial manufacturing, as well as fill and finish, according to Thermo Fisher’s website.

The Cambridge factory, for its part, boasts a “broad-range” of viral vector manufacturing process technologies, with multiple drug substance suites, an automated fill-finish system, quality control labs and process development space. The site is specifically designed to produce and test viral vectors for cell and gene therapies.

The Lexington facility, meanwhile, is no longer listed online.

Thermo Fisher got its hands on the Lexington facility back in 2019 when it laid out $1.7 billion to acquire viral vector producer Brammer Bio. Alongside some 600 Brammer employees, Thermo Fisher picked up commercial-ready viral vector plants in Cambridge and Lexington plus a preclinical and clinical-stage site in Alachua, Florida, where the company laid off 205 staffers last summer.

The latest round of cuts in Massachusetts comes after Thermo Fisher in April said it would liquidate 74 roles from its plasmids manufacturing laboratory at its campus in Carlsbad, California.

“There are times when we must adjust staffing levels to remain in line with current volume demands,” a Thermo Fisher spokesperson said at the time, noting that the company was unsure of its ultimate plan for the manufacturing lab.

Thermo Fisher last month reported third-quarter revenues of $10.6 billion, up slightly from the $10.57 billion the company generated over the same period in 2023. The company continues to expect to generate total 2024 sales between $42.4 billion and $43.3 billion.

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