Downsize

Takeda, digesting Nycomed, downsizes in Europe and the US

Matthew Arnold January 18, 2012

Takeda said it will slash its global workforce by around 2,800 jobs - 700 of those in the US and the rest in Europe - as it absorbs Nycomed and moves toward a more diverse product portfolio.

Novartis slashes 1,960 US sales and marketing jobs amid hypertension franchise implosion

Matthew Arnold January 13, 2012

Novartis will eliminate 1,630 sales rep jobs and 330 headquarters marketing jobs as its hypertension franchise faces the impending loss of Diovan patent exclusivity and the impact of ugly study results on Tekturna sales.

AstraZeneca slashes US sales force by a quarter

Matthew Arnold December 08, 2011

AstraZeneca is slashing its US sales force by 24% as the company confronts a steep patent cliff and late-stage pipeline that has delivered a string of disappointments in recent years.

Sanofi plans new layoffs, buyouts for reps

Matthew Arnold November 07, 2011

Sanofi will winnow its field force down through a "voluntary separation program" and relocation of some reps, said a spokesperson following news of another round of layoffs at the company.

Dendreon downsizes amid Provenge reimbursement woes

Matthew Arnold September 09, 2011

Dendreon is downsizing to the tune of around 500 jobs and COO Hans Bishop is on the outs as the company struggles to launch its prostate cancer vaccine Provenge, which is seeing glacial uptake amid reimbursement woes.

Company News: Medivation, Hacker Group and HealthHG

March 30, 2010

San Francisco-based biotech Medivation said it will cut 23 positions -- a fifth of its staff -- as part of a cost-cutting exercise in the wake of the failure of Alzheimer's drug candidate dimebon, which the firm was partnering with Pfizer on.

UCB exits US primary care

Matthew Arnold February 01, 2010

UCB is getting out of the US primary care market by the end of the month to focus on its specialty immunology and neurology franchises.

Novartis held the line on sales and marketing spend in 2009

Matthew Arnold January 26, 2010

Novartis' US sales reorg seems to have paid off in 2009 as the company held the line on sales and marketing expenses despite a passel of global launches.

Pfizer shrinks R&D operations

Matthew Arnold November 09, 2009

Pfizer will shrink the square footage of its global R&D operation by 35% as it absorbs Wyeth, sharply reducing some sites, shuttering others and prompting an as-yet unspecified number of layoffs.

J&J to cut 8,000 jobs worldwide by 2011

Matthew Arnold November 03, 2009

Johnson & Johnson will slash headcount by 6-7% -- between 7,020 and 8,190 of its 117,000 employees worldwide -- as part of a broad restructuring.

Smaller biotechs hit as Shire cuts bait on experimental drugs

Marc Iskowitz October 30, 2009

Amicus Therapeutics announced a work-force reduction of about 20 percent, or 26 employees, as a part of a corporate restructuring after a commercialization deal with Shire soured.

Lilly revamps sales model for smaller territories

Matthew Arnold August 04, 2009

Eli Lilly & Co. will eliminate around 300 positions in its US diabetes, neuroscience and osteoporosis sales forces as it implements a new sales model featuring smaller territories, each manned by a rep with deep therapeutic expertise.

Amylin slashes sales force by 35%

Matthew Arnold May 05, 2009

Amylin is cutting 200 sales positions -- around 35% of its sales force -- as it merges its specialty and primary care sales forces into a single organization targeting endocrinologists and diabetes-focused primary care physicians.

J&J to eliminate 900 sales-related positions

Ben Comer April 10, 2009

Johnson & Johnson will cut 900 positions at its Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit by the end of the second quarter.

Number of reps down 10% since 2007, says study

Anthony Vecchione March 23, 2009

Job security for pharma sales reps is looking bleak, going by the results of a ZS Associates study. The survey found that the number of US reps has plummeted 10% since 2007 to 92,000, and the management consultancy projects a further decline, to 75,000 by 2012.

Troubled KV cuts 700 jobs amid suspension

Matthew Arnold February 09, 2009

KV Pharmaceutical Company said it is eliminating 700 jobs as part of a cost-cutting program following a suspension of manufacturing and product recalls resulting from an FDA investigation.

Allergan, King cut sales and marketing

Matthew Arnold February 04, 2009

Allergan announced it will lay off 460 employees, mainly in sales and marketing, while King Pharmaceuticals said it would cut 760 positions, including 380 field sales staff.

Deep cuts at AstraZeneca, Sepracor

Matthew Arnold January 29, 2009

The cuts keep coming. AstraZeneca will make another 6,000 job cuts for a total of 15,000, or 23% of its global workforce of 65,000, by 2013, and Sepracor is slashing its sales force.

Pfizer/Wyeth cuts to top 18,000

Matthew Arnold January 26, 2009

Pfizer will cut between 18,000 and 19,000 jobs as it absorbs Wyeth, the company said.

AstraZeneca cuts jobs, closes factories

Ben Comer November 21, 2008

AstraZeneca (AZ) announced plans to cut an additional 1,400 jobs - on top of the previously announced 7,600 - as the company deals with impending generic competition.

Novartis to cut 550 US sales jobs as part of reorganization

Matthew Arnold October 20, 2008

Novartis will eliminate 550 positions from its US sales force "in a socially responsible manner," with half coming from unfilled vacancies, and establish five new regional units with cross-functional responsibility for primary care as part of its "Customer Centric Initiative."

Par slashes staff as Schwarz, AMDL expand

Anthony Vecchione October 14, 2008

Woodcliff Lake, NJ-based Par Pharmaceutical Companies announced that it will slash approximately 190 positions -- 30% of them in manufacturing, R&D, and general and administrative -- by the end of 2008, and the remaining positions by the end of the first half of 2009.

Revolution Health reduces staff by 50 to 'consolidate synergies'

Stephen McGuire June 10, 2008

Revolution Health Group has reduced its staff by 50 employees as the online consumer health company reshuffles for the second time in eight months.

GlaxoSmithKline to close Reliant HQ, lay off marketers

Stephen McGuire April 04, 2008

GlaxoSmithKline will close the Liberty Corner, NJ, headquarters of Reliant Pharmaceuticals and plans to lay off 109 workers at the site, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey reports.

Development head Shannon exits as Novartis re-org continues

Stephen McGuire March 24, 2008

Novartis' head of global drug development James Shannon will leave the company as the drugmaker continues a reorganization of its pharmaceuticals division.

Bradley Pharmaceuticals layoffs

Stephen McGuire March 20, 2008

Nearly two-thirds of Bradley Pharmaceuticals' work force is expected to be let go following the company's acquisition by Nycomed.

Neurogen cuts jobs

Stephen McGuire February 12, 2008

Neurogen said it laid off 70 workers and is taking a charge of about $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2008 to pay severence benefits and other charges.

Company news

January 31, 2008

Neose Technologies said it will reduce its staff by 35% in connection with the discontinuation of NE-180 (GlycoPEGylated erythropoietin), its experimental erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) for the treatment of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease and cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Wyeth mulls slashing workforce by 10%

Stephen McGuire January 24, 2008

Wyeth is considering a cost-cutting plan that may call for elimination of 10% of its workforce over the next three years, a company spokesman told MM&M.