Takeda Pharmaceutical has announced that it will lay off approximately 2,800 employees — 2,100 in Europe and 700 in the US — as it realigns to accommodate its 2011 acquisition of Nycomed. Nycomed’s products include Alvesco ciclesonide MDI, Omnaris ciclesonide nasal spray, Zymelin/Xymelin xylometazoline nasal spray, and Instanyl intranasal fentanyl; in addition, an NDA for a ciclesonide HFA nasal aerosol was filed in June 2011.
The company says that it “will align Nycomed’s former operation structures and processes with the Takeda global headquarters in Japan and the newly defined organizations of the Chief Commercial Officer – which is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland – and Chief Medical & Scientific Officer – which is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois – and its expanded affiliate network worldwide.” Takeda President and CEO Yasuchika Hasegawa explained: “While our combined operations in more than 70 countries are more complementary than overlapping, there are a number of areas where we will need to make changes to ensure efficient and flexible operations moving forward.”
One of the areas the company plans to consolidate is in R&D. Takeda says that it will “invest strongly” in research and development in its core therapeutic areas, which presumably includes Nycomed’s respiratory program. In order to pay for this R&D investment, it may merge or sell subsidiaries, especially in Europe, in addition to the layoffs.
Read the Takeda press release.
