Pfizer has plans to close six R&D sites and cut an unspecified number of jobs in the U.S. and the UK as part of its integration with Wyeth.

According to a company statement, Pfizer will reduce its global R&D square footage by 35%, and will discontinue R&D operations in Princeton, NJ; Chazy, Rouses Point and Plattsburgh, NY; Sanford and Research Triangle Park, NC; and Gosport, Slough/Taplow, UK.

Pfizer will now have five main R&D sites for BioTherapeutics, PharmaTherapeutics and Vaccines. These sites are: Cambridge, MA; Groton, CT; Pearl River, NY; La Jolla, CA; and Sandwich, U.K. These research labs will be supplemented by specialized research capabilities, such as monoclonal antibody discovery in San Francisco, regenerative medicine work in Cambridge, UK, and R&D activities in Shanghai, China.

“By focusing our R&D operations in these centers, we are building the world’s premier biopharmaceutical R&D enterprise,” said Mikael Dolsten, president of BioTherapeutics R&D. “This new structure puts Pfizer in the best position to conduct cutting-edge research within and beyond our own laboratories and to deliver a portfolio of high-impact medicines to patients.”

While these changes are expected to bolster productivity and reduce costs, they will result in staff reductions, according to Martin Mackay, president, PharmaTherapeutics R&D.