Life Sciences Firm Closing 2 Maryland Facilities, Laying Off Workers

A lab worker places test tubes in a holder.

International life sciences firm Catalent is shutting down two large Maryland facilities and laying off workers, public records show.

The company is laying off a combined 135 workers at 20 Firstfield Road in Gaithersburg and 9920 Belward Campus Drive in Rockville, according to the State of Maryland's Work Adjustment and Retraining Notifications registry. The registry categorizes the layoffs as part of a plant closure.

Catalent didn't respond to a request for comment, nor did it mention the layoffs in its most recent earnings call Nov. 1. But Chief Financial Officer Tom Castellano did mention that cost savings initiatives were underway, according to a transcript from SeekingAlpha.

The two properties are owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, which declined to comment for this story.

An affiliate of the national life sciences real estate REIT acquired the 51K SF Rockville property for almost $36M in 2018, and it bought the 56K SF Gaithersburg property for $18M in 2000, according to property records.

Both are part of medical office campuses owned by Alexandria in the Shady Grove research cluster, according to financial documents from the firm.

The Catalent layoffs were posted Nov. 16, one day after life sciences firm NexImmune posted its own Gaithersburg layoffs affecting 30% of the company's workforce.

NexImmune will retain approximately 50 employees and focus on a proprietary technology that would inject nanoparticles into the body to create an immune response, the Washington Business Journal reported.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Washington, D.C. Newsletters
Related Stories

Alexandria Sells Cambridge Lab Condo Units For $45M

Jemals Sell Georgetown Building To Developer Planning Conversion

Oncology Company Expands Footprint At Hines' Life Sciences Campus

D.C.'s Office Market Is Getting A Makeover

Judge Rules FBI Can't Scrap Maryland Headquarters Plan

CGI Merchant Had A-Rod's Backing And A $650M Fund. Then It Bought Trump's D.C. Hotel And It All Fell Apart

Brookfield Offloads 3-Building Silver Spring Office Complex

Student Housing Investor Buys Foggy Bottom Residences: The D.C. Deal Sheet

'We Messed Up With Rent Control': CRE Execs On MoCo's Multifamily Hurdle

New National Geographic Museum Food Hall By Winmar Blends Design With Elevated Dining

Commanders Pick Clark Construction, 2 Others To Build D.C. NFL Stadium

Maryland ICE Facility Construction Can Resume After Court Reinstates Permits