Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Biogen Idec laying off 13 percent of its work force in cost cutting move - chicagotribune.com

Biogen Idec laying off 13 percent of its work force in cost cutting move - chicagotribune.com: "Biotechnology company Biogen Idec Inc. said Wednesday it is laying off 13 percent of its work force, or 650 employees, to cut costs.

Biogen, based in Weston, Mass., said it will have 4,275 employees after the cuts, which include exiting development of cancer treatments and cardiovascular drugs. The company said it will focus on neurology and leverage its strengths in biologics research and development and manufacturing to pursue select biotechnology-based therapies.

The company sells multiple sclerosis drugs Tysabri and Avonex and cancer drug Rituxan.

Biogen expects to post annual savings of about $300 million after the restructuring, which will lead to charges of about $115 million.

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