The pharmaceutical group Sanofi on Thursday signed the sale of its Strasbourg site, devoted to research and development (R&D) in immuno-oncology, to Novalix, a contract research company specializing in the development of drugs.
The transaction amount was not sent.
From a union source, around fifteen of the 56 employees on permanent contracts at Sanofi Strasbourg will join the Novalix teams.
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"
The takeover of the site is an opportunity for Novalix to accelerate its development, to deploy new capacities, particularly in biology and pharmacology
", declared, via a press release, Stephan Jenn, the president and founder of Novalix. This company, created in 2002 in Strasbourg, employs 200 people.
On this site, Novalix plans to set up “
its head office and its main scientific center
”.
The company also wishes to develop other activities devoted to “
medical and therapeutic innovation
”, by relying on electronic cryo-microscopy, a method of observing molecules coupled with 3D imaging.
"
We were keen to find a buyer who could be part of the continuity of very high-level biomedical research activities and Novalix met all the criteria
", assured Jacques Volckmann, head of R&D France at Sanofi. .
Restructuring
This sale is part of the restructuring announced by Sanofi in June 2020. The group then indicated that it wanted to cut a thousand jobs in France over three years, including 364 in R&D, and close the Strasbourg site.
"
The announcement, two years ago, of the closure of the site, is not something that was well received, but things went well
", said Jean-Marc Remy, CFDT delegate and member of the CSE.
"
Most employees (Strasbourg, editor's note) are in the process of finding a solution for the rest of their career
," he said.
According to him, of the 56 permanent employees of the site, 15 have agreed to join Novalix, at the cost of wage cuts, "
5 to 6
" other employees are leaving Strasbourg to remain within the Sanofi group, and "
about fifteen people
" will go on pre-retirement, accessible from 56 years old.
“
Discussions and arrangements remain
” for other employees.