Less than a month after revealing pipeline cuts amid disappointing gene therapy sales, BioMarin is now downsizing its team.
The biotech said it will lay off about 170 workers worldwide after recent moves to trim its pipeline. At the end of last year, the California-based company had 807 R&D staffers globally out of a total of 3,400, which includes operations, sales and marketing.
According to a Tuesday SEC filing, the staff cuts would cost the company between $15 million and $20 million in severance and other termination benefits in the second quarter of the year. Most of the affected staffers were informed Tuesday and the layoffs will be finalized at the end of July.
Alexander HardyIn April, the company said it had discontinued two gene therapies as well as a small molecule for hyperoxaluria and a monoclonal antibody intended for long QT syndrome. At that time, CEO Alexander Hardy said these candidates “did not meet our new higher bar for continued development.”
BioMarin’s gene therapy Roctavian has yet to meet its sales forecast. It only pulled in $3.5 million from three patients in 2023 and $800,000 in the first quarter of 2024, and the company is mulling the possibility of divesting the asset. Roctavian was approved in June last year for hemophilia A with a US list price of $2.9 million per patient.
At the end of last year, activist investor Elliott purchased a significant stake in BioMarin worth over $1 billion. Under Hardy, both parties agreed to make moves to upgrade the biotech’s performance.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to clarify that the company discontinued four assets and not two.