Lundbeck to cut 600 jobs in Europe

Danish drugmaker Lundbeck is to axe around 600 jobs in Europe as it aims to establish a more flexible commercial infrastructure to cope with generic competition, cutbacks in government spending, and pricing and reimbursement uncertainty.

Lundbeck said it would take restructuring charges of up to DKK500m (US$85m) from the reorganisation of its commercial operation in Europe.

Ulf Wiinberg, president and ceo of Lundbeck, said: ‘The market environment in Europe is changing rapidly at a time when Lundbeck has numerous new products to launch.

‘To ensure a successful transition of our product portfolio in Europe we need a more flexible commercial infrastructure and to maintain cost control,’ he said.

Lundbeck says its guidance for earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) will not change before restructuring costs.

Lundbeck is facing generic competition to its anti-depressant Cipralex, which is sold as Levapro in the US and Japan, and is seeking a replacement.

In Lundbeck’s first quarter financial report issued last month, Wiinberg said that over the next 18 months the firm would launch four additional products.