Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you, especially since the middle of the week is upon us. After all, we have made it this far, so we are determined to hang on for another couple of days. And why not? The alternatives — at least those we can identify — are not so appetizing. And what better way to make the time fly than to keep busy. So grab that cup of stimulation and get started. Our flavor today is chocolate raspberry, for those tracking our habits. Now, though, the time has come to get busy. So please grab your own cup and dig in to the items of interest assembled below. We hope you have a wonderful day, and please do keep in touch. …
Biopharma layoffs have been higher over the past couple of years than during the industry’s boom times amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and job cuts this year have mainly hit larger pharmaceutical companies to a greater degree than in the past, according to STAT. About 67% of life science employees laid off during the first half of 2024 were at biopharma companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales. This is a sharp jump from 2021 to 2023, when larger companies accounted for 47% of layoffs. Meanwhile, the number of biotech job postings fell from 21,366 to 12,300 between the first five months of 2021 and the same period this year.
Purdue Pharma secured a two-month window to negotiate a new settlement with members of the Sackler family, Bloomberg News notes. The OyxContin maker and its owners are bracing for a potential wave of civil opioid lawsuits after the U.S. Supreme Court scuttled an earlier $6 billion deal. Bankruptcy Court Judge Sean Lane said during a Tuesday court hearing in New York that he would extend for 60 days an injunction that, for years, has paused opioid litigation against the billionaire family while Purdue, government authorities, and victims lawyers attempted to effectuate the earlier settlement.
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