Layoffs

The layoffs will not spare Generation’s R&D team, which will initially be retained while the biotech completes its strategic review but will eventually be let go.

What if loyalty is holding you back? While it’s a sign of character, consistency and belief in a mission bigger than yourself, it can also keep you stuck in a job when you should be moving on.

In December 2024, Dewpoint Therapeutics CEO Ameet Nathwani said the biotech’s cash runway would last until the third quarter of 2025.

Higher competition for fewer roles remains the status quo for biopharma professionals, based on BioSpace data. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that recent job growth is lower than previously believed.

The German giant has already trimmed more than 10,000 employees since initiating a massive restructuring initiative in July 2023. Bayer said even more cuts are coming as it weathers up-and-down sales across its portfolio.

BioNTech also laid off 63 employees in June in conjunction with the discontinuation of its cell therapy manufacturing operations in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

George Tidmarsh takes over temporarily at CBER following Vinay Prasad’s abrupt departure; Replimmune trial leaders protest rejection reportedly driven by FDA’s top cancer regulator Richard Pazdur; Merck’s $3 billion savings push claims 6,000 jobs; and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addresses President Donald Trump’s new threats around Most Favored Nation drug pricing.

The number of biopharma professionals let go has increased year over year for three straight months. In July, as many as 8,000 people lost or were projected to lose their jobs, due largely to news that Merck projects to cut roughly 6,000 employees as part of a multiyear process.

Merck has characterized its cost-cutting initiative as more of a reallocation of resources to support other, higher-growth areas of its business.

The announced reduction of hundreds of staff came a day ahead of Moderna’s Q2 earnings report.