Thursday, September 9, 2010

160 -- Of 500 -- Let Go, In Ireland This Lunch-Time, By New Merck


Here's the update to this item, of earlier this morning:

. . . .Management at the Schering-Plough pharmaceutical plant at Brinny in West Cork have said they will be cutting the workforce there by 160 over the next three years.

In a meeting with staff today, the management of the company said that where possible it will try to achieve the job cuts through voluntary redundancies.

Schering-Plough site director John Howell also said that a transformation programme at the company presented everybody at the West Cork plant with an opportunity to secure further investment at the site in the future. . . .

The above is a snippet from this local news outlet (its logo is featured at the upper left, of the Irish graphic, at right). Good news for the 340; hard times for 160.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recall Brinny Ireland is the primary drug substance manufacturing site for PEG INTRON which is used in combination with boceprevir, Merck's small molecule antiviral in the treatment of chronic hep c currently in a head to head race to market with J&J's/Vertex's telaprevir

Is New Merck hedging on their future hep C franchise?
wolf

condor said...

Welcome back, Wolf!

We are indeed honored by your lupine, yet regal, presence -- in our humble hovel.

Thanks -- and yes, this sure looks like a "hedge" of the boceprevir bet.

Especially so, since Vertex's telaprevir increasingly looks to be the hands-down winner next gen Hep C treatment.