Embattled Mylan Chops Another 200 to 300 Jobs

Layoffs

Two days after Mylan Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch said she sees a “strong finish” for the company through the rest of 2017, the company has reportedly let between 200 and 300 people go from its West Virginia operations.

According to reports, Mylan is cutting positions in the human resources department, accounting department, corporate security, customer relations, and the customer complaint department. Almost one year ago, in December 2016, the company announced job cuts of just under 10 percent of its employees as part of an efficiency strategy. At the time of those cuts, the company said it was maximizing its assets while reducing redundancy. Mylan said the most recent layoffs are a continuation of that strategy.

“Around this time last year, we announced restructuring programs in certain locations representing initial steps in a series of actions designed to further streamline operations globally. As part of this process, we anticipated that less than 10 percent of our global workforce would be impacted across all geographies and businesses. These changes are a part of this previously announced restructuring that we are continuing to execute on,” Mylan said in a statement to West Virginia radio station WAJR. “These decisions are about keeping Mylan fit and positioning the company for another 50 years of successful operations here in West Virginia and around the world.”

The company has not indicated if the West Virginia cuts are the only ones it will make before the close of the year.

Mylan continues to battle a number of public relations issues surrounding the pricing of its EpiPen product. The nearly $600 retail cost of the auto-injectors (not including insurance or other benefit programs) caused a public outcry during a time when the industry as a whole was being scrutinized for its pricing practices. Since company acquisition of the EpiPen in 2007, the price has dramatically increased from $57 to nearly $500, a 400 percent increase. The EpiPen generated more than $1.2 billion in revenue for 2015, accounting for about 40 percent of Mylan’s overall earnings.

The EpiPen pricing problem hasn’t gone away. The company is under a federal antitrust investigation over whether or not the company acted improperly to prevent other companies from competing with its autoinjector product.  

In its latest quarterly report, the one where Bresch predicted a strong close to the end of the year, the company reported revenues were down 2 percent overall, with a 22 percent loss in North America. The majority of those North American losses were due to a decline in sales of the EpiPen. Sales of the autoinjector accounted for 15 percent of that overall 22 percent loss in North America, the company said. Bresch said the “accelerated deceleration of EpiPen sales” was primarily due to the launch of the company’s own generic version of the drug, as well as “the contraction of the overall epinephrine auto-injector market.”

While the EpiPen sales are down, Bresch did point to other milestones, including the regulatory approval of its Glatiramer Acetate product, a generic version of Teva’s Copaxone. She said being first to market in two strengths demonstrates the company’s scientific effectiveness.

“It also paves the path for the many other complex products we have in our pipeline,” Bresch said in a statement.

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