Job Cuts Planned At Biotech Firms

Three biotechnology companies are cutting jobs as part of restructuring plans. PDL BioPharma plans to divest its commercial cardiovascular products and refocus on oncology and immunological drugs. The news comes as the Fremont, Calif., company is ending development of Nuvion for ulcerative colitis due to poor efficacy. Some 250 sales jobs will be eliminated, plus other positions not yet announced. PDL employs about 1,100 people. South San Francisco-based Sunesis Pharmaceuticals says it will refocus on its lead product, SNS-595, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. As a result, the firm is reducing its workforce by 35 research and administrative employees, leaving it with a staff of 108. Meanwhile, Munich-based GPC Biotech has launched a restructuring plan under which it will cut its workforce of 316 by 15%. The cuts in commercialization, drug development, and administrative functions all will occur at the company's U.S. locations.