Merck & Co. Inc. became the latest pharmaceutical company to announce staff cuts, telling reporters that the company plans to eliminate a total of 840 sales positions across the United States in a restructuring of its chronic-care team approach.
As part of the restructuring, some 1,800 workers will be cut in the company’s current primary care, endocrinology, and hospital chronic care units, while a new 960-member chronic-care sales force will be established, according to a Merck spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman, who told reporters that none of the eliminated positions are being moved out of the country, was quoted as saying that the new set-up is intended “to better support changes in our business in the United States.”
The moves will benefit company efforts to focus on R&D aimed at solving unmet medical needs, developing growth opportunities, and reducing overall costs, she said.
The new chronic-care sales force will target Merck’s Januvia diabetes medication and other primary care drugs, as well as women’s health and respiratory treatments.
In September, Eli Lilly & Company announced plans to eliminate nearly 9 percent of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting strategy.
(Sources: FirstWord Pharma; Reuters/Markets Insider; Philadelphia Business Journal)
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
