Teva To Cut 5,000 Jobs As Key Drug Patent Expiration Looms

Faced with a looming patent expiration for its biggest-selling drug, Teva Pharmaceuticals is accelerating a $2 billion cost-cutting plan that was begun less than a year ago by cutting 5,000 employees, which amounts to roughly 10 percent of its global workforce. The drugmaker also intends to take other, unspecified steps that involve “selective trimming of assets that no longer fit its core business or are not critical to its future,” and “scale down oversized parts of the company,” according to a statement. The move comes less than three months after a US court invalidated the 2015 patent on its Copaxone multiple sclerosis drug. The decision means patent protection for the drug, which generates about half of company earnings and dominates the MS market, may prevent rivals from selling lower-cost versions of the injectable drug only until next year. Teva, meanwhile, is appealing the decision. “Teva is managing its operations to achieve high levels of effectiveness in the short term, while pursuing opportunities for the long term,” Teva ceo Jeremy Levin says in the statement. “The accelerated cost reduction program will strengthen our organization while improving our competitive position in the global marketplace.” As a result of the cost cutting, Teva now expects to realize approximately $2 billion in annual cost savings by the end of 2017, compared to the previously guided range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. The drugmaker also estimates that $1 billion, or 50...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs