Biogen to Lay Off 880 Employees

Oct. 21, 2015

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen said it will cut about 11 percent of its workforce and end some development programs in a restructuring aimed to save $250 million a year, according to a CNBC article. The job cuts are said to come after a slowdown in growth of Biogen's multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera.

In addition, Biogen reported that another of its multiple sclerosis drugs, Tysabri, failed in a late-stage clinical trial in a form of the disease known as secondary progressive MS.

"We remain committed to maximizing the potential of our commercial portfolio, with a particular emphasis on Tecfidera," Biogen CEO George Scangos said in the statement. "The decision to reduce the company's workforce was extremely difficult, but we believe these actions are necessary to fulfill our mission of bringing important new medicines to patients."

The savings from the restructuring will be invested in late-stage development of experimental drugs for Alzheimer's, spinal muscular atrophy and a new approach to MS, the article said.

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