Cangene lays off 40 staff; cites dip in U.S. contracts
Government deals dry up; commercial biz new focus
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/04/2011 (5536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
CANGENE Corp. handed out 40 pink slips on Friday.
The Winnipeg-based life sciences firm, which manufactures plasma-based pharmaceutical and bio-defence products, blamed a downturn in U.S. government contract manufacturing for the move.
“With manufacturing of bulk product for these contracts largely completed and our belief that any future U.S. government contracts will be at lower volumes to maintain existing stockpiles, we are increasing our focus on commercial-product growth opportunities,” said Michael Graham, Cangene’s acting president and CEO.
“This reorganization makes our Canadian operations leaner and better able to grow and achieve our goals, which include the development of new products such as the anti-infective, IGIV.”
The 40 layoffs are part of the company’s job-reduction strategy, which started last summer.
Between last August and the end of January, Cangene eliminated another 60 positions, most of them through attrition.
The reduction of 100 jobs during the current fiscal year represents 12 per cent of the company’s workforce.
The U.S. contract-manufacturing operations of Cangene’s Baltimore-based subsidiary, Cangene BioPharma, are not affected by Friday’s layoffs.
Two weeks ago, Cangene reported a profit for its quarter ended Jan. 31 of $2.4 million, or four cents a share. That was down from the $5.7-million profit earned a year ago, but up from the $5.4-million loss from the previous quarter.
News of the layoffs had minimal impact on Cangene’s shares (TSX:CNJ), which closed down a nickel to $2.55 on volume of 18,200. The majority of Cangene’s shares are held by Toronto-based generic drug powerhouse Apotex Inc.
Cangene, which was founded in Winnipeg in 1984, still employs about 700 people in six locations throughout North America.
The company’s longtime CEO, John Langstaff, retired in January, but continues to be a special adviser to the company.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca