Pfizer has announced the closure of its leading UK research centre, Sandwich, which has been responsible for the discovery of many successful products. These include impotence pill Viagra, heart drug Norvasc and HIV/AIDS medicine Celsentri. The drugs giant will exit the site over the next 18 to 24 months, as part of a global programme to create a more focussed and sustainable R&D machine. The US group will make the majority of the site's 2,400 staff redundant. The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said the announcement was "extremely disappointing", and that the Coalition will meet with the group to look at alternative uses for the site. Medical experts said the move is "devastating" for British science, coming as the latest in a series of UK R&D job cuts as the industry moves to slash costs. The Royal Society of Chemistry said the science sector is witnessing the "haemorrhaging of the lifeblood of the British pharmaceuticals industry". Trade union Unite reacted with dismay at Pfizer's decision, which it said will see the withdrawal of Sandwich's biggest employer. "This is a shocking wake-up call," said Colin Blakemore, professor of neuroscience at the University of Oxford. "We must respond to this signal that one of our most important industries no longer has confidence in the future of British science."