GlaxoSmithKline Studies New Toulouse Cancer Study Site

UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is exploring the possibility of opening a new research centre in Toulouse, France. French drug major sanofi-aventis already operates research teams at the so-called canceropolis site and plans to double the size of its local facility by the end of the decade.

GSK describes negotiations on the project as being "at an advanced stage," and the company could reportedly seek some financial support from the French government's Datar technology programme. GSK already carries out some research work at Toulouse's university, but could now opt to extend its local public-private partnerships. If the company invests at the site, its activities will contrast with those of US-based Allergan, which recently closed an R&D facility at the Sophia-Antipolis technology site outside Nice.