Northfield Labs Shutters HQ, Cuts 13 Jobs

Artificial blood developer Northfield Laboratories has cut 13 jobs, and will close its corporate headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

The company is reducing hours for its remaining 57 workers, and will relocate its executives to a Mt. Prospect manufacturing plant.

Northfield needs cash to fund operations while awaiting regulatory review of PolyHeme, a blood substitute it has been working on for more than 20 years.

The Food and Drug Administration is studying Northfield’s product as a potential blood substitute for patients on the battlefield or at trauma scenes where “blood is not available for prolonged periods of time.”

Northfield does not generate sales or profits because PolyHeme is its only product. Since its inception in 1985, Northfield has lost more than $220 million.