Dive Brief:
- Pfizer disclosed Tuesday it will lay off an undisclosed number of employees in research and development, the latest round of layoffs for the pharma giant.
- In a statement, the company said it "will be making select headcount reductions in certain areas of R&D, and reallocating headcount to other growing areas of the organization."
- The cuts will occur at two Pfizer research hubs in Cambridge, MA and Collegeville, PA.
Dive Insight:
After earlier R&D job cuts in a major restructuring, Pfizer has recently struck big deals with Merck KGaA (immuno-oncology), Spark Therapeutics (gene therapy), and Hospira (injectables, biosimilars, and generics). The new round of cuts was disclosed Tuesday by FierceBiotech.
The company also won accelerated approval of its likely blockbuster Ibrance (palbociclib) for treatment of advanced breast cancer earlier this month.
Here's the full statement that Pfizer provided regarding the job cuts and reorganization: "Pfizer's Research and Development organization periodically makes adjustments to its staffing mix to respond to shifting priorities in the portfolio and the need for the right pool of talent to deliver on these priorities. As a result of these adjustments, Pfizer will be making select headcount reductions in certain areas of R&D, and reallocating headcount to other growing areas of the organization."
"As Pfizer recently announced, the company has increased investment in areas that will position us to deliver on some of the most promising scientific advances. Immuno-oncology and gene therapy are two such areas where we plan to make additional hires in the coming months in an effort to ramp up our capabilities. As the R&D ecosystem evolves, Pfizer will continue to ensure that we have the right talent and capabilities focused in the right areas so that we can execute on our strategy of advancing Pfizer's next wave of innovation for the benefit of patients in need."