Elan Corporation PLC Cuts 10 Pct of Workforce, Most Job Losses at San Francisco R&D Facility, Half Are Scientists

January 25, 2011 -- Elan Corp. laid off 130 people — primarily at the drug maker’s South San Francisco research and development center — as executives flew across the country in a private jet, Reuters reported.

The job cuts, roughly half being scientist positions, translate to about 10 percent of the company’s workforce but were not announced publicly. The company (NYSE: ELN) confirmed the cuts in response to questions from Reuters.

The news agency said Elan’s board was told about the job cuts after unidentified company executives flew back to New York from San Francisco on a private jet.

The layoffs and jet-setting are the latest problems for Elan, which over the past couple of years has faced investor concerns about excessive air travel, a corporate structure that has spread senior management in the Bay Area, New York and Dublin, Ireland, and safety issues around the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.

What’s more, after so-so data from a mid-stage trial of the potential Alzheimer’s disease drug bapineuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, Elan sold a chunk of its Alzheimer’s portfolio in fall 2009 to Johnson & Johnson for nearly $900 million.

Bapineuzumab now is controlled by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, which has hired a number of former Elan workers in South San Francisco.