Dendreon Corporation to Cut 600 Jobs, Shutter New Jersey Plant

Money-losing biotech Dendreon Corp (DNDN.O) said it would close one of its three manufacturing plants and cut more than 600 full-time and contractor jobs over the next 12 months, with the aim of reducing annual costs by about $150 million a year. Dendreon had about 1,475 employees as of February 23, 2012, according to a regulatory filing. The company, whose Provenge treatment for prostate cancer has had disappointing sales since it was launched in April 2010, and which is facing growing competition from easier-to-administer drugs, said the closure of its Morris Plains, New Jersey, factory would greatly reduce its cost of goods sold.