While there is currently significant uncertainty regarding the implementation of some of these reforms or the scope of amended or additional reforms, the implementation of reforms could significantly reduce net sales resulting from the Medicare programs and limit our ability to increase the prices that we charge for our drugs. Reforms or other changes to these payment systems may change the availability, methods and rates of reimbursements from Medicare, private insurers and other third-party payors for our current and any future approved products. These reforms may affect future investments in our drug development, should the reforms affect our risk-benefit analysis of investing in a drug candidate. Some of these changes and proposed changes could result in reduced reimbursement rates or the elimination of dual sources of payment, which could reduce the price that we or any of our collaborators or licensees receive for any products in the future, and which would adversely affect our business strategy, operations and financial results.
All entries for: Respiratory Diseases
GSK
Negative Outlook
London, UK
50,001+ employees
Tessera Therapeutics
Layoffs
Somerville, MA
201-500 employees
Tessera Therapeutics will reduce its workforce by 17%, according to reporting from Fierce Biotech, which confirmed the layoffs with a company spokesperson. The move will help support Tessera’s transition into clinical work later this year. It is unclear when the layoffs will take effect or how many exactly will be affected.
GSK - Cambridge
Layoffs
Cambridge, MA
50,001+ employees
GSK is letting go of 150 employees in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice. Endpoints News reported that the London-based company plans to move manufacturing of its pneumococcal vaccine asset that uses its multiple antigen presenting system (MAPS) technology from Cambridge to Marietta, Pennsylvania.
GSK
Layoffs
London, UK
50,001+ employees
London-based GSK is cutting its global research and development team by an unspecified number of people, Fierce Biotech reported July 15. A spokesperson told Fierce a “very limited number of positions will be impacted” across the company’s R&D workforce of more than 12,000 people.
4D Molecular Therapeutics - Emeryville
Layoffs
Emeryville, CA
51-200 employees
California-based 4D Molecular Therapeutics is downsizing by 25% its current and planned roles in an effort to better realign its resources, the company announced on Wednesday. The layoffs will primarily affect staff supporting early-stage R&D activities and will allow the company to “drive late-stage execution,” as per the announcement.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Layoffs
Providence, RI
5,001-10,000 employees
Just months after shelving its cell therapy–device combo for type 1 diabetes, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is parting ways with 140 employees, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter dated June 6. The layoffs will heavily focus on the company’s Rhode Island operations, where 125 employees will be affected, as per the state’s WARN posting. There, Vertex is consolidating its three Providence sites, which currently form somewhat of an “integrated campus” in the city, into just one location, as per the WARN letter. “We presently expect this action to be permanent,” wrote Camilo Cobos, the biotech’s vice president of human resources.
SciSparc
Neutral Outlook
Tel Aviv, Israel
1-50 employees
The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, or the IRA, of 2022 further affects Medicare reimbursement. The IRA has three key elements reforming Medicare drug-pricing policy. The implementation of certain elements of the IRA are still forthcoming, as outlined below, so the specific implications for biopharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement are yet to be determined. Likewise, SciSparc is unable to predict potential modification, amendment, or repeal of the IRA, though some predict that challenges may be made as different provisions are enacted.
Prime Medicine
Discontinued Research, Layoffs
Cambridge, MA
201-500 employees
As part of a strategic restructuring that includes deprioritizing its chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) programs, Prime Medicine is cutting about 25% of its staff and saying goodbye to its CEO, who resigned, the company announced May 19. The Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech had 214 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2024, according to an SEC filing, meaning the layoffs could affect about 54 people.
CalciMedica
Neutral Outlook
La Jolla, CA
1-50 employees
For example, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress authorizes the Secretary of the Department of HHS to negotiate prices directly with participating manufacturers for selected medicines covered by Medicare even if these medicines are protected by an existing patent. For small molecule medicines, the process begins seven years after initial approval by the FDA. While we do not believe that the IRA or its effects will impact our ability to obtain patents in the near future, we cannot be certain whether it will affect our patent strategy in the long run.
AN2 Therapeutics
Negative Outlook
Menlo Park, CA
1-50 employees
It is currently unclear how the IRA will be implemented but is likely to have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. We expect that additional U.S. federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that the U.S. federal government will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures.
