Bristol-Myers Squibb is pulling the plug on La Jolla-based diabetes drug manufacturer Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., which it acquired last year in a multibillion dollar deal. Amylin, which employs 420 in San Diego, will be shuttered by late 2014.
Some of the San Diego employees will be considered for relocation, and the others will receive severance, the company reportedly said. Amylin employs about 1,100 around the country, and those in its Ohio branch and scattered around the country in sales roles will be brought into Bristol-Myers Squibb, according to the company.
In January 2012, after a 12-year research process the company received regulatory approval for Bydureon, a once-weekly injection that treats type 2 diabetes. It was then acquired by New York City-based Bristol-Myers Squibb for $5.3 billion, and AstraZeneca paid $3.5 billion for a portion of the profits from Amylin’s drugs. Analysts estimate that Bydureon sales could reach $1 billion per year.
Amylin was founded in 1987, and has since grown to occupy its 266,000-square-foot headquarters in La Jolla.
-SDBJ Staff Report