Novartis
NEWS
Takeda’s cuts will go the deepest, affecting over 4,700 employees. Layoffs tied to M&A activity include BioNTech letting go of around 800 people at CureVac.
With the latest layoffs, Novartis expects to let go of around 800 employees by the end of 2028. More than half of the cuts have been at the company’s East Hanover, New Jersey, location.
The centerpiece of the acquisition is Myricx Bio’s novel N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor payload platform, which could help Novartis develop antibody-drug conjugates that can overcome the limitations of existing therapies.
Novartis and Antares Therapeutics are shooting for the stars, launching a joint mission to develop small molecule oncology therapies.
The RNA-based medicine is one of a handful of antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates that Novartis acquired last October when it took over neuromuscular-focused Avidity Biosciences.
It’s the latest Big Pharma deal for molecular glue technology and Novartis’ second with Orionis Biosciences, after first linking up in March 2020. The backloaded agreement will see Novartis pay $40 million upfront.
For the second time in 2026, the number of biopharma professionals affected by made or projected workforce reductions rose year over year. In May, layoffs spiked nearly 50%, mainly due to Takeda and BioNTech axing a combined 6,360 employees.
Over the past decade, Eli Lilly has bought out more biotechs than any of the other top 12 pharmas by revenue—with 10 of those acquisitions arriving just this year.
Seventeen life sciences businesses awarded Massachusetts tax incentives to add and retain 426 combined jobs hit 10% of that target as of Dec. 31. Three companies, including Novartis, had reported layoffs either last year or this year.
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