Albany Molecular to close Cicero drug-research lab by end of June

CICERO — Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI) on Wednesday announced it will close its Syracuse–area drug-research center, which is located in Cicero and employs about 45 people, by the end of June.

The Albany–based company said it will transfer the drug discovery and development services work at its Syracuse Research Center to other AMRI facilities, including sites in Albany; Cedarburg, Wis.; the United Kingdom; and India. Some jobs may also shift to Buffalo, where AMRI will open a lab on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus at a new $50 million state-funded drug-discovery center, according to The Buffalo News.

AMRI’s Syracuse Research Center, located at 7001 Performance Drive in Cicero, services the global pharmaceutical industry with chemical-process research and development, custom chemical synthesis, and other pharmaceutical-product services.

AMRI said the move to shutter the center is part of its continuing efforts to consolidate its facilities to cut costs and become more efficient.

“The decision we have made, while difficult for our colleagues in Syracuse, reflects the continued evolution of AMRI’s business to better align our operations to most efficiently support our customer needs, while preserving the skills and capabilities that our customers demand as they return to greater utilization of their outsourcing partners,” William S. Marth, AMRI’s president and CEO, said in a news release. “… We will be transitioning and consolidating those activities to other sites within AMRI.”

Albany Molecular Research (NASDAQ: AMRI) estimated that it will incur one-time charges, totaling between $5.75 million and $6.5 million, against its earnings to close the Syracuse Research Center. That includes $3.75 million to $4.25 million in non-cash, fixed-asset impairment charges and cash charges totaling $2 million to $2.25 million for employee and other related costs.  The company said it expects to record the majority of the charges in its second and third quarters.

But AMRI anticipates the move will generate recurring savings of about $1.5 million per year.

AMRI, which employs nearly 1,300 people companywide, is a global contract research and manufacturing firm offering drug discovery, development, and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The company reported almost $13 million in net income on revenue of nearly $247 million in 2013, compared to a net loss of almost $4 million and revenue of nearly $227 million in 2012.

AMRI’s stock price is up 59 percent so far this year, as of Wednesday’s closing price of $16.07 a share.

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