EVERETT — Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer expressed its commitment to improving cancer treatment in a meeting with investors Thursday, with the $43 billion acquisition of the Bothell-based Seagen as the centerpiece of that work.
But that work won’t happen here.
Pfizer plans to “wind down construction” at a huge manufacturing facility in south Everett, the company confirmed in a statement Friday. The Puget Sound Business Journal first reported the news.
The 120 or so employees, who have been working as the plant at 215 Shuksan Way was built, “will be impacted,” an unnamed Pfizer spokesperson told The Daily Herald in an email.
The spokesperson didn’t confirm if that meant they’d be laid off.
“Our colleagues are our top priority, and we are committed to keeping them informed throughout the process and providing them with support services,” a Pfizer statement read. “We want to reinforce that this decision is not a reflection on the performance of our colleagues but is in alignment with our site capacity design to meet the needs of the business.”
The products Pfizer planned to manufacture in Everett will instead be produced at a facility in North Carolina.
In April 2022, Seagen announced plans to build a 270,000-square-foot Everett facility to manufacture medicine for clinical trials and the commercial market. And in August of last year, Seagen signed a $215 million deal with contractor Skanksa to build the plant. It was expected to be done by the end of this year. Seagen started a 20-year lease on the site in 2021. The company had said it would employ up to 200 workers.
The New York-based company completed its acquisition of Seagen in December. By acquiring Seagen, Pfizer had said it expects to double the number of early-stage cancer fighting drugs it’s developing.
Pfizer had also said it planned to maintain Seagen’s facilities in the Puget Sound area.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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