For the past year, Bayer has tried to marry its drug business to Akzo Nobel and others--but only if Bayer could keep control.

FORBES: Bayer backs down

Pfizer is also developing a second antipsychotic, asenapine, with Akzo Nobel (nasdaq: AKZOY - news - people ).

FORBES: Pfizer Antipsychotic Gets New Approval

Moreover, the company has had a string of regulatory disappointments with medicines like indiplon, a sleeping pill, and more recently an antipsychotic that it was developing with Akzo Nobel (nasdaq: AKZOY - news - people ).

FORBES: Pfizer: Still In The Game

But at least three of the research sites being shut down stand out: those that were originally part of Organon, the pharmaceutical-making arm of the Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel.

FORBES: Merck Shutters Productive Labs