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AstraZeneca has cut about 600 jobs across its US respiratory and immunology commercial teams as part of a restructuring program targeting USD 1.5 billion in annual savings. The British pharmaceutical company aims to achieve those savings by 2029 and redirect resources toward drug development, according to Bloomberg.
Some affected employees could move into other positions within the company. AstraZeneca has also reduced its partnership with US contract sales organization Syneos Health.
The workforce changes follow modest sales growth across parts of the company's respiratory portfolio. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca's management maintains that the restructuring will not reduce its overall employee count.
Some of the employees affected by the restructuring worked on promoting asthma drugs Breztri and Airsupra. Both products recorded relatively weak sales performance in the third quarter despite the company's efforts to expand its respiratory business.
Breztri generated USD 170 million in quarterly US sales, representing a 2% increase from the same period a year earlier. The growth followed an April decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to expand the drug's approved use from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to asthma.
Ruud Dobber, AstraZeneca's biopharmaceuticals business chief, said during the third-quarter earnings call that the new indication had experienced rapid uptake. Meanwhile, Airsupra recorded US sales of USD 43 million during the quarter, marking a 3% annual decline.
Elsewhere in the respiratory portfolio, AstraZeneca and Amgen continue to pursue additional uses for Tezspire. The drug recently achieved positive results in a phase 3 trial for eosinophilic esophagitis. AstraZeneca seeks to expand its approved uses beyond asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.
AstraZeneca introduced its three-year restructuring program in October to free up resources for its pharmaceutical pipeline. The initiative involves shifting spending and employees across different business areas and geographical markets.
Chief Financial Officer Aradhana Sarin said during an October press call that the program would not result in a net reduction in employment. Instead, the company intends to redistribute resources based on the needs of its drug portfolio.
CEO Pascal Soriot also explained that the planned spending would create employment opportunities. He described the restructuring as a redistribution of resources rather than an effort to reduce the company's overall size.
While certain departments face job reductions, others could receive additional resources. Sarin said the restructuring would create opportunities for employees to develop new skills and move into different roles. She also indicated that the changes would extend beyond a single business division.
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The latest workforce reductions come after several years of expansion under Soriot's leadership. According to a Fierce Pharma assessment, AstraZeneca was among three major pharmaceutical companies that consistently increased their workforce from 2021.
Despite that expansion, the company faces the approaching loss of market exclusivity for several key medicines. Other large pharmaceutical manufacturers face similar challenges as they seek to maintain revenue growth across their drug portfolios.
AstraZeneca has also encountered setbacks in its clinical development programs. These include its heart disease candidate Wainua, which it developed in partnership with Ionis, and its experimental cancer treatment volrustomig.
The clinical setbacks have added challenges to the company's near-term and medium-term growth plans. Nevertheless, management maintains that AstraZeneca remains on track to generate USD 80 billion in annual sales by 2030.
The restructuring will run through 2029, with management targeting changes across its pharmaceutical portfolio and workforce. Sarin said the program would offer employees opportunities to acquire additional skills and take on new responsibilities in different areas of the business.
AstraZeneca's restructuring has affected approximately 600 US commercial positions as the company pursues USD 1.5 billion in annual cost savings. Despite slower respiratory drug sales and clinical development setbacks, management plans to maintain overall employment while redirecting resources toward its pharmaceutical pipeline and USD 80 billion revenue target.