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Biotech bloodbath? Nearly 100 companies announce layoffs in the first half of 2023, but job openings also surge

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Chemical Laboratory Technician

[werbefoto-burger.ch/Adobe Stock]

The first half of 2023 brought job cuts to roughly 100 biotech and pharma companies. But while that may indicate an unstable employment landscape, it is not a universal trend.

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

Biopharma job openings on the upswing [Image courtesy of JLL Research]

Conversely, smaller companies grappling with limited funding and rising interest rates are more likely to cut workers. Similarly, many private biotechs are postponing or canceling plans to go public as a result of the skittish investment landscape in the sector. Political tensions and new laws allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices have further complicated the industry’s stability. Big Pharma companies like Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb are suing to stop the government from rolling out the Medicare initiative.

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
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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