After submitting plans to cut 114 jobs tied to its U.S. headquarters in New Jersey in March, Novartis late last month added a handful of additional roles from the East Hanover site to its multiyear workforce reduction agenda.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The move is separate from the prior layoff round, a Novartis spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Pharma Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another 60 employees linked to the East Hanover HQ are set to be laid off<\/a> later this year, according to an April Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filing sent to the state of New Jersey.<\/p>\n The latest cuts come as Novartis has \u201ctaken steps to evolve our Oncology, Rheumatology, Dermatology and Neuroscience field sales teams in the US,\u201d the company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n Unlike the previous round of cuts, which were tipped to begin in June, the new reduction will begin taking effect in late July, according to the communication with the state. Both layoff rounds are scheduled to wrap up by late November.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNovartis continually assesses opportunities to adapt in alignment with evolving patient, customer, and business needs,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cAs such, we direct our efforts to ensure we have the strongest talent in place in areas where we can create the greatest potential impact for patients and customers.\u201d<\/p>\n The prior round<\/a> of cuts this year marked Novartis\u2019 efforts to rework its sales team for rare disease medicines.<\/p>\n Novartis\u2019 rare disease portfolio consists of meds like the chronic myeloid leukemia therapy Tasigna and Promacta, indicated for treatment of low blood platelet counts in certain patients. The two meds, along with Entresto, make up a formidable<\/a> patent cliff for Novartis to overcome in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, the company is currently shepherding several new rare kidney disease therapies through their launches, including Vanfrafia<\/a> and Fabhalta.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time Novartis has made cuts to its East Hanover team. A similar move to recalibrate<\/a> its cardiovascular commercial structure led to some 427 job cuts last March.\u00a0<\/p>\n In September, Novartis said it would lay off another 58 employees who report to its New Jersey headquarters, impacting<\/a> the company\u2019s U.S. medical affairs team, a Novartis spokesperson said at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Novartis is just one of many pharma majors to chart significant staff reductions<\/a> in recent years, joined by the likes of Pfizer and Merck & Co.\u2014in many cases driven by a massive patent cliff<\/a> approaching some of the industry\u2019s biggest branded medicines.\u00a0<\/p>\n