The 2023 was a challenging year for the biopharma business. Some companies laid off and rearranged their workforces to survive in the market. Mergers and acquisitions increased in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries in late 2023 and have continued to rise into 2024, indicating an upturn.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. laid off its employees in 2022. But there was no news about layoffs in 2024.
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About BioMarin
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. is an American biotechnology business based in San Rafael, California. The company has offices and facilities across the U.S., South America, Asia, and Europe. Over the years, BioMarin has faced criticism for drug pricing and specific cases of restricting access to drugs in clinical trials.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s stock has fallen 13% in the last month. The company does not issue regular dividends, which means that almost all of its profits are reinvested in the company. However, this does not explain why the company has yet to experience any growth.
BioMarin’s Layoff
In October 2022, a press release issued on October 6, 2022, announced that BioMarin Pharmaceutical would lay off approximately 120 people to save money. The company’s plan to reduce its staff by 4% aimed to simplify the organization, increase efficiencies, and reduce managerial layers. The move was to save the drugmaker about $50 million per year, beginning in 2023.
According to the release, BioMarin intended to reinvest a “major portion” of the funds in its clinical and early-stage portfolio. The cash can also fund the U.S. launch of one-and-done hemophilia. Roctavian, a gene treatment, received European approval in August after facing regulatory delays at the FDA.
BioMarin explained to FierceBiotech that “organizational assessment showed that some roles in the organization were redundant. Also, it is not aligned with the company’s longer-term goal.”
BioMarin employs the majority of the impacted workers in the United States. The business stated that they were informed of the decision. At that time, BioMarin planned to spend around $25 million on the reduction during the third and fourth quarters of 2022.
CEO Jean-Jacques Bienaime stated this in a post-market release during the layoff announcement:
“Change is needed to fulfill our promise. We have to operate the business for the benefit of our patients, shareholders, and other stakeholders. To function with the best efficacy and efficiency, our organization must be the proper size. It should have the proper structure and the correct focus.”
BioMarin’s financial results appeared stable. At the end of June 2022, the Californian business had $1.52 billion in cash and equivalents, the same amount as it had at the start of 2022. In its August 2022 financial report, the company raised its full-year 2022 revenue expectations from $2.05–$2.15 billion to $2.06–$2.16 billion.
BioMarin anticipated paying $20 million to $25 million in one-time costs to cover employee termination benefits and severance.
BioMarin’s commercial chief leaves the company
Alexander Hardy is BioMarin’s new CEO. The company has announced that Jeffrey Ajer, the team lead, will be leaving by July. Thus, he is reorganizing his commercial team.
The announcement was made via a short SEC filing. It stated that the 18-year-old company veteran Ajer would “step down” as the business’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer (CCO) in July and that the departure was “without cause.”
There was no supporting press statement, quotes from Hardy or Ajer, or information about the new CCO’s plans. Ajer has been with BioMarin since 2005. He was promoted to his current position in 2012.
According to a BioMarin representative, the company “has begun to look for his successor. Jeff will keep leading the organization in the interim.”
The representative also stated that Ajer played a “pivotal role” during his extended company term. “We are grateful for everything he did during his tenure.” The company did not specify how or when he decided to depart or whether it was part of Hardy’s new strategy plan.
Conclusion
It’s a critical time for BioMarin’s commercial team. Hardy recently appeared at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. He told investors that the company’s “top priority” is to expand its dwarfism medicine. Until now, there has been no news about layoffs at BioMarin.