American pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. announces a plan to reduce 3% of its current workforce over the next six months, with the aim of reducing costs and creating a more agile organization.
The pharmaceutical industry has cut thousands of jobs in recent years as it grapples with patent expirations on best-selling drugs and the difficulty of bringing new products to market. Bms, in particular, will soon have to deal with the expiry of the commercial protection on one of its best-selling medicines, the anticoagulant Plavix (clopidogrel): the patent is valid until 2012. As of 31 December last year, Bms had around 28,000 employees worldwide. The reduction of the 3% would therefore translate into about 840 fewer jobs. However, BMS did not disclose the financial impact of the operation.
Pharmakronos – September 28, 2010
Ed.: Merck & Co. (in Italy and other countries known as Merck Sharp & Dohme) proceeded with a merger with Schering-Plough, through an agreement worth 41.1 billion dollars. With revenues of approximately $47 billion, the new company is simply called Merck. The president and CEO of the new company is Richard Clark, former CEO of Merck and Co.. The shareholding is made up of 68% by the shareholders of Merck and Co. and 32% by those of Schering-Plough. Merck said most of Schering-Plough's employees would keep their jobs, but Merck also said it believes the merger will bring about $3.5 billion in savings after 2012. With what if not also with a reduction of overlapping posts? For Fred Hassan, who began his career in Pakistan in 1970 as a medical informant and who led Schering-Plough, this is the third mega merger of his career. It was he who wanted the merger between Pharmacia Upjohn and Monsanto, worth $37 billion, through which Pharmacia corporation was born and then the merger between Pharmacia and Pfizer, worth $58 billion. In 1891, German George Merck established its branch in the United States and established Merck & Co. in New York as the American arm of the family firm, E. Merck (named after Emanuel Merck), which in Germany is Merck KGaA. Merck & Co. was confiscated in 1917 during World War I and incorporated as an independent corporation in the United States.
Richard Clark, President and CEO of Merck, in 2008, earned total compensation of $17,320,938, which included a base salary of $1,783,334, cash bonus of $2,244,051, stocks received of $6,811,125, options granted of $6,408,003, and other allowance of $ 73,669.
