Over the past 5 years, the main arteries of drug R&D have pointed straight to the world's biggest biopharma hubs. As hubs have grown, outlying R&D operations have been steadily trimmed away. And that trend played a big role in Novartis's ($NVS) decision to shutter its big respiratory research center in West Sussex, south of London, with plans to lay off 371 staffers and 170 consultants as part of a wider restructuring. Report