The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company decided to reduce investment in and de-emphasize focus on growth in its CDMO business. This results in a reduction of operations at the company’s Bayview facility in Baltimore.
Additionally, in response to changes in the volume of U.S. government procurements of medical countermeasures, the company intends to further reduce operations at its facility in Canton, Massachusetts. In turn, this results in a small reduction of operations at its drug product facility in Rockville, Maryland.
In total, the changes lead to a reduction of approximately 400 employees across all areas of the company. Emergent BioSolutions expects to see annualized savings of over $100 million when it fully implements the changes. It forecasts costs between $19 million and $21 million for the effort.
Going forward, Emergent BioSolutions plans to focus on its core products business: medical countermeasures and Narcan nasal spray. The FDA approved the over-the-counter Narcan spray in May. It expects to maintain a level of operations at Bayview and Canton to ramp up production in response to new demand.
“The actions we are taking will further strengthen our core products business and financial foundation,” said Emergent interim CEO Haywood Miller. “This will better align Emergent’s businesses with a focus on our core products and delivering for the needs of our customers. It will provide us with flexibility to respond to future customer demand while responsibly maintaining manufacturing infrastructure deemed critical to respond to public health threats.”
More on the changes at Emergent BioSolutions
As a result of the shift away from Emergent’s services business, it eliminated the role of chief operating officer. As a result, Adam Havey, who currently holds that role, is to leave the company on Sept. 30.
Bill Hartzel, SVP and head of bioservices, assumes responsibility for manufacturing operations. He also joins the executive management team, reporting to Miller.
Paul Williams, SVP of products, said the company’s focus rests in areas where it feels it can have a positive impact. Emergent BioSolutions remains committed to address public health threats, he added.
“Changes like these are never easy as they impact many of our colleagues,” said Miller. “I want to thank Adam for his more than 20 years of service to Emergent, and all those who are affected by these actions for their dedication and contributions. Emergent is committed to working with impacted employees to help transition them to new opportunities.”
