Mass. Biotech Firm Vertex To Cut 370 Jobs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Vertex Pharmaceuticals says it plans to eliminate about 15 percent of its worldwide workforce, including about 175 positions in Massachusetts.
The Cambridge-based biotechnology firm made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that sales of Incivek, a drug to treat Hepatitis C, were expected to continue to decline as other treatments become available.
An advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently recommended approval of a competing hepatitis C drug from Gilead Sciences.
Vertex said it planned to focus future investment on cystic fibrosis and other "high-potential research and development programs."
The company will shed a total of about 370 jobs, leaving about 1,800 employees worldwide and 1,300 in Massachusetts.
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