Pfizer cuts 210 jobs in NC after Duchenne gene therapy failure

Pfizer recently faced a significant setback in its gene therapy efforts when a candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) did not succeed in a crucial clinical trial. This failure has led to considerable changes in the company's operations, particularly in North Carolina.

Following this setback, Pfizer is planning two rounds of workforce reductions in North Carolina. At the Rocky Mount sterile injectables facility, 60 jobs will be cut by the end of July. Additionally, 150 employees at the Sanford site will be let go this week. Despite these layoffs, Pfizer confirmed that these sites would remain operational.

These layoffs are part of a broader cost-cutting strategy that Pfizer initiated in the fall of 2023. After announcing plans to reduce spending by $4 billion last year, Pfizer revealed an additional plan in May to cut costs by another $1.5 billion by the end of 2027. The Sanford facility has been a crucial part of Pfizer's gene therapy programs, having received $100 million in investment in 2017 and an additional $500 million in 2019. These investments were aimed at developing gene therapy treatments for DMD, hemophilia A, and hemophilia B.

However, the unexpected failure of the DMD candidate, fordadistrogene movaparvovec, in a phase 3 trial, led to discussions about potential layoffs at the Sanford site. Now, 150 employees involved in the DMD gene therapy program and other operations at Sanford will be affected.

On a positive note, Pfizer recently had a phase 3 success with its hemophilia A candidate, giroctocogene fitelparvovec. However, the commercial viability of gene therapy for hemophilia A has come into question due to the struggles faced by BioMarin's FDA-approved Roctavian. In April, Pfizer's hemophilia B drug, Beqvez, received FDA approval. Nevertheless, this second-to-market product will face competition from CSL and uniQure’s Hemgenix.

Seeing less potential in gene therapies for rare diseases, Pfizer sold a portfolio of preclinical gene therapies to AstraZeneca last year. Despite this, Pfizer is expanding in other areas. The company recently acquired a nearby manufacturing facility from Abzena to support its growing portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates. This facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024, and Pfizer plans to employ around 300 employees there by 2025, up from 100 currently.

At the Rocky Mount facility, Pfizer will decommission several manufacturing lines and shift its large-volume solutions business to a contract manufacturer. According to a company spokesperson, these changes are due to lower projected product demand and ongoing site modernization efforts. The Rocky Mount site is one of the largest sterile injectable facilities globally, covering over 1.4 million square feet and producing nearly a quarter of Pfizer’s sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals.

The site suffered damage from a tornado last July, leading to projected supply limitations throughout 2024. Pfizer's cost-cutting measures have already impacted its manufacturing facilities. In October, the company announced plans to close two facilities in North Carolina, including a clinical manufacturing facility dedicated to gene therapy technology in Durham, which had only opened in late 2021.