Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma will close the Seattle office of Universal Cells, its wholly owned subsidiary that creates engineered, allogeneic stem cells, a move that will affect 50 employees. A handful of affected staffers’ positions will be moved to the pharma’s other research locations in South San Francisco, California, and Westborough, Massachusetts, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice.
While the 50 employees are slated for layoffs, those who take internal transfer opportunities or roles with another Astellas corporate affiliate prior to their separation date won’t be let go as part of the cuts, according to the notice. The workforce reduction will be effective in multiple waves starting July 1, 2026, and ending April 1, 2028.
A company spokesperson told BioSpace in an emailed statement that the pharma is consolidating cell and gene therapy and oncology research activities in Seattle into its South San Francisco and Westborough sites.