Organon’s workforce cuts come several months after the company’s loss of exclusivity to its second-largest product, Atozet.
As part of its efforts to optimize internal operations, Organon will lay off 93 employees at its headquarters in Jersey City, New Jersey, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice. The cuts will be effective starting April 30 and will wrap up May 31.
The women’s health–focused pharma began reducing headcount in certain markets and functions in 2023 and had expected restructuring to continue into 2025, according to a Feb. 28 SEC filing. Organon noted that during the first quarter of this year, it implemented restructuring initiatives that “will drive operational efficiencies in 2025,” which resulted in letting go of about 5% of its workforce. The Jersey City layoffs are likely part of those cuts.
As of Dec. 31, Organon had over 10,000 employees worldwide, with about 1,800 people in the United States, according to the SEC filing.
The workforce reduction follows recent mixed news for Organon. In September 2024, the company lost exclusivity in Europe and Japan for its second-largest product, the cholesterol-lowering drug Atozet. Organon stated in its SEC filing that sales of Atozet declined 9% in 2024, due in part to the loss of exclusivity. The company expects Atozet sales to continue to decline this year, according to the filing.
Regarding overall financial results, in its February press release, Organon shared that its fourth-quarter revenue of $1.6 billion was flat year over year, while 2024 revenue was up slightly, at $6.4 billion compared to $6.3 billion in 2023, a 2% increase. As of the end of 2024, cash and cash equivalents were $675 million, while debt was $8.9 billion.
Organon CEO Kevin Ali said in the press release that the company’s 2025 financial guidance reflects the potential for a fourth year of constant currency revenue growth despite the loss of exclusivity of Atozet.
Also noteworthy, the company today announced that it had acquired from Biogen the U.S. regulatory and commercial rights for Tofidence, a biosimilar to Genentech’s Actemra, for intravenous infusion. Tofidence is used in certain patients to treat moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis, giant cell arteritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and COVID-19, according to the release.
The agreement includes an upfront payment to Biogen, with Organon paying tiered royalties based on net sales and tiered annual net sales milestone payments owed by Biogen to Bio-Thera Solutions, according to the release.
