Emergent BioSolutions to lay off about 400 employees

[August 09, 2023]  (Reuters) - Emergent BioSolutions on Tuesday decided to cut 400 jobs and scale back operations at some its facilities, pivoting its focus on core products such as overdose reversal nasal spray Narcan and anthrax vaccines.

The company said it will reduce operations at Bayview, Baltimore and Canton, Massachusetts, and do away with the chief operating officer role, in an effort to move away from contract drug development and manufacturing business.

Smaller biotech companies have been struggling to finance drug development programs and that has hampered their ability to deliver on contract research services for over a year.

The job cuts along with other initiatives are expected to save more than $100 million annually when fully implemented.

The company had nearly 2,500 employees as of Dec.31, according to its regulatory filing. It had cut 132 roles in January.

A nurse demonstrates the application of the NARCAN nasal spray medication at a outpatient treatment center in Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S. August 9, 2017. Picture taken August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo

Emergent expects to incur an estimated cost of between about $19 million and $21 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Its shares were down 2.7% in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Arun Koyyur)

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