[werbefoto-burger.ch/Adobe Stock]
Since March, appetite for life sciences talent has gathered steam. According to data from real-estate firm JLL, June 2023 had the sixth highest number of biopharma job openings of any month on record. Figures for that month were on par with peaks in 2022 and up 11% year-over-year. Job openings were lowest in February in 2023, but the volume of openings at that time was still substantially higher than most of the months from 2019 to 2020. Check out the data in the chart below.
Challenges and opportunities amidst biotech layoffs in 2023
The haves vs. have-nots. The industry is divided between the “haves and have-nots,” Michael Yee, a Jefferies biotech analyst told WSJ in February. While biotech layoffs in 2023 are common, companies with promising pipelines and ample funding continue to prosper. A good number are capitalizing on the falling valuations of some companies and actively pursuing M&A deals, which have rebounded in 2023. Sanofi, Merck and Novartis are notable examples of companies hungry for acquisitions.
Biopharma job openings on the upswing [Image courtesy of JLL Research]
Historical context of growth
While the biotech market has faced challenges with layoffs in 2023, the industry witnessed significant job growth beforehand. According to a 2022 report from CBRE, the number of employees in the U.S. life sciences industry expanded 5.3% from January 2021 to January 2022, outpacing the national job growth rate of 4.7% in the same period. Growth in biotech R&D was especially strong, growing 11.5% in the same period.
Growing demand for AI roles
Another bright spot is demand for AI-related roles in pharma and biotech. The trend is especially evident in Big Pharma as companies like Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Takeda, Novartis and Pfizer actively seek to fill thousands of AI roles. A Deloitte survey of C-suite executives in biopharma and medtech revealed a majority of executives are convinced that machine learning, analytics and business intelligence will have a large impact on the industry. A flurry of AI-related headlines underscores this trend.
A summary of biotech layoffs 2023
The following table summarizes companies that have announced workforce cuts in 2023. Of the companies that cut workers in the first half of 2023, smaller firms and startups outnumbered Big Pharma companies more than five to one:
| Company name | Details | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Arch Oncology | Ceasing operations | January 2023 |
| TCR² Therapeutics | 25% of workforce | January 5, 2023 |
| Fate Therapeutics | Half of workforce | January 5, 2023 |
| Century Therapeutics | 25% of workforce | January 5, 2023 |
| Y-mAbs Therapeutics | 35% of staff | January 5, 2023 |
| Elevation Oncology | 30% of workforce | January 6, 2023 |
| Calithera Biosciences | Most employees | January 9, 2023 |
| Editas | 60 | January 9, 2023 |
| Abzena | 66 employees | January 11, 2023 |
| Verily Life Sciences | Over 200 jobs | January 11, 2023 |
| Akili Interactive Labs | 30% of staff | January 12, 2023 |
| ReNeuron | 40% of workforce | January 19, 2023 |
| Merck KGaA | 133 | January 23, 2023 |
| Quince Therapeutics | 47% of staff | January 30, 2023 |
| Amgen | 300 jobs | January 30, 2023 |
| Sanofi | 800 | January 30, 2023 |
| Inovio | 11% of remaining employees | January 31, 2023 |
| Amgen | 750 | January 31, 2023 |
| Instil Bio | Cut employees to 15 employees. The company announced it was cutting 60% in December 2022. | January 31, 2023 |
| Cerebral | 285 | February 1, 2023 |
| Evelo Biosciences | 45% of staff (48 people) | February 1, 2023 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 57 | February 3, 2023 |
| Neurona | 25% of staff (18 people) | February 6, 2023 |
| Magenta Therapeutics | 84% of staff | February 9, 2023 |
| Aligos Therapeutics | 10% of employees | February 8, 2023 |
| Eliem Therapeutics | 55% of staff | February 9, 2023 |
| Thermo Fisher | 230 | February 10, 2023 |
| Frequency Therapeutics | 55% of team | February 13, 2023 |
| Grifols | 2,300 | February 15, 2023 |
| Chimera Bioengineering | 40% of team | February 16, 2023 |
| Talaris Therapeutics | A third of workforce | February 16, 2023 |
| Pfizer | 111 employees in total | February 17, 2023 |
| National Resilience | 213 jobs | February 21, 2023 |
| Aileron Therapeutics | 6 of 9 remaining staff | February 21, 2023 |
| Jounce Therapeutics | 57% of workforce | February 22, 2023 |
| Graphite Bio | Half of team | February 22, 2023 |
| Quantum Genomics | Undisclosed number of employees | February 22, 2023 |
| Bayer | 55 employees | February 22, 2023 |
| Cybin | 15% of staff | February 23, 2023 |
| Impel Pharmaceuticals | 16% of staff | February 23, 2023 |
| EQRx | 18% of team | February 23, 2023 |
| Neoleukin Therapeutics | 70% of workforce | March 9, 2023 |
| Personalis | Up to 30% | March 20, 2023 |
| Ferring Research Institute | 89 | March 28, 2023 |
| Aridis Pharmaceuticals | 20% of workforce | March 31, 2023 |
| Vedere Bio II | All staff | March 31, 2023 |
| Affimed | 25% of workforce | April, 2023 |
| Freeline Therapeutics | 30% of staff | April 4, 2023 |
| VBI Vaccines | Up to 35% of team | April 4, 2023 |
| NGM Bio | 33% of workforce (75 people) | April 5, 2023 |
| Takeda | Up to 186 employees | April 6, 2023 |
| Biogen | Not publicly disclosed | April 11, 2023 |
| GentiBio | “Relatively small” round | April 12, 2023 |
| Aeglea BioTherapeutics | All but 10 employees | April 12, 2023 |
| Talaris Therapeutics | 95% of remaining employees (80) | April 14, 2023 |
| Nektar Therapeutics | 60% of San Francisco-based workforce | April 18, 2023 |
| Sangamo Therapeutics | 120 employees (27% of U.S. workforce) | April 27, 2023 |
| Selecta Biosciences | 25% of workforce | May 4, 2023 |
| Acasti Pharma | Severe reduction in head count | May 8, 2023 |
| EQRx | 57% of workforce | May 8, 2023 |
| Novavax | 25% of workforce | May 9, 2023 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 48 employees | May 9, 2023 |
| ADC Therapeutics | 17% of workforce | May 9, 2023 |
| Gossamer Bio | 25% of workforce | May 10, 2023 |
| Athenex | 123 workers | May 12, 2023 |
| PTC Therapeutics | 8% of workforce | May 23, 2023 |
| BenevolentAI | Up to 180 staff | May 25, 2023 |
| Rain Oncology | 65% of workforce | May 30, 2023 |
| Frequency Therapeutics | 55% of workforce | May 31, 2023 |
| Oncorus | 55 people (substantially all workforce) | June 2, 2023 |
| GreenLight Biosciences | 96 employees | June 8, 2023 |
| Rejuvenate Bio | Undisclosed number of employees | June 12, 2023 |
| Encoded Therapeutics | Close to 10% of workforce | June 13, 2023 |
| Xalud Therapeutics | Not specified | June 12, 2023 |
| Surface Oncology | 50% of workforce | June 16, 2023 |
| Molecular Templates | 44% of remaining staff | June 16, 2023 |
| Nutcracker Therapeutics | 12 employees | June 21, 2023 |
| Intercept | 33% of workforce | June 22, 2023 |
| Federation Bio | Undisclosed | June 22, 2023 |
| Eiger | 25% of workforce | June 29, 2023 |
| Cyteir Therapeutics | Ceasing operations | June 30, 2023 |
| BAKX Therapeutics | Most of the rank-and-file staff | July 1, 2023 |
| Avrobio | 50% of workforce | July 12, 2023 |
| Theratechnologies | Undisclosed | July 12, 2023 |
| Capsida Biotherapeutics | Undisclosed | July 14, 2023 |
| Pieris Pharmaceuticals | 70% of employees | July 18, 2023 |
| FibroGen | 30% of staff | July 19, 2023 |
| ImmuneID | Undisclosed number of employees | July 19, 2023 |
| Amarin | 120 (30% of workforce) | July 19, 2023 |
| Passage Bio | 26% of staff | July 20, 2023 |
| Heron Therapeutics | 25% of staff | July 24, 2023 |
| Biogen | 1,000 by 2025 (11.5% of workforce) | July 25, 2023 |
| Infinity Pharmaceuticals | 78% of remaining staff | July 26, 2023 |
| Mersana Therapeutics | Half of workforce | July 27, 2023 |
| Homology Medicines | 87% of workforce | July 28, 2023 |
| Ribon Therapeutics | Undisclosed number of employees | July 28, 2023 |
| Intergalatic Therapeutics | All staff | August 1, 2023 |
| Karyopharm Therapeutics | 20% of staff | August 2, 2023 |
| Charles River Laboratories | 55 employees | August 2, 2023 |
| SterRx | 161 employees | August 2, 2023 |
| Celsius Therapeutics | 75% of team | August 3, 2023 |
| Emergent | 400 | August 8, 2023 |
| Salarius Pharmaceuticals | More than 50% of staff | August 9, 2023 |
| Elevation Oncology | Nearly one-third of workforce | Early January 2023 |
| Zymergen | 293 jobs (cuts in multiple rounds) | Late July 2022 to mid-Jan 2023 |
| Quince Therapeutics | 47% reduction; completed by April | January 24, 2023 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 350 jobs | March 10, 2023 |
| Vyant Bio | Undisclosed number of workers | January 31, 2023 |
| Eisai | Nearly 100 workers | End of April |
Filed Under: Drug Discovery, Drug Discovery and Development, machine learning and AI, Regulatory affairs
