Between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs are expected to be lost at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries as part of the company’s cost-cutting measures.

Reports from Israel claim the majority of the layoffs will be made in the US and Europe and mainly focused in Teva’s recently acquired Cephalon’s generic business.

The reports say that Teva is hoping to raise $500 million in synergies from its takeover with job losses expected to raise the majority of its target.

Teva has already said it is planning to cut sales, marketing and administrative expenses by $300 million, R&D by between $120 million and $150 million, and production costs by $50 million to $80 million. R&D savings would be achieved by cutting duplicate operations, the company said.

Teva has a history of job losses following takeovers of generic companies. In 2008 it bought US generic specialist Barr and reduced its workforce by 10%, reports say.

A reduction of 1,000 jobs at Cephalon would represent a loss of 27% roles before the takeover. But one company where job losses will be made, the reports say, is at Mepha, the Swiss generics manufacturer Cephalon bought last year. The company had 620 jobs prior to the acquisition.

The European Commission (EC) has authorised DuoCort Pharma’s Plenadren (hydrocortisone) to be marketed in the EU for the treatment of adrenal insufficiency.

The dual release hormone replacement therapy is the first pharmaceutical innovation in over 50 years for adults suffering from adrenal insufficiency, or cortisol deficiency.

Professor Gudmundur Johannsson, Chief Medical Officer at DuoCort Pharma, said: “Plenadren offers a welcome new treatment option to help patients suffering from adrenal insufficiency. It can improve therapy for many of the almost 200,000 patients in Europe who suffer from this disease and who need lifelong cortisol replacement therapy for their survival.”

The once-daily tablet is designed to imitate the normal physiological cortisol profile, with an outer layer that releases hydrocortisone immediately into the bloodstream and an inner core releasing the rest of the medicine gradually throughout the day.

Although glucocorticoid replacement therapy for adrenal insufficiency has been available for decades, complications have been linked to the medication, including premature death, impaired quality of life, increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, and decreased bone mineral density.

Adrenal insufficiency (cortisol deficiency) is a rare, life-threatening disease that affects patients in their active years. Patients require lifelong replacement therapy with hydrocortisone, the synthetic form of cortisol, replacing or substituting the hormones that the patient's adrenal glands are not producing.

DuoCort Pharma provides drug development with a focus on improving glucocorticoid therapy. The company is currently being absorbed by ViroPharma, who acquired the pharmaceutical company for an upfront payment of $33 million dollars in October.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company has created several new positions as part of its “Transformation into a New Takeda”, restructuring the company’s business operations.

The new roles include Chief Medical and Scientific Officer (CMSO) and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

The CMSO is set to replace the existing post of Chief Scientific Officer, to be filled by board member Dr Tadataka Yamada, a medical doctor and scientist with strong experience in pharmaceutical R&D.

The CCO will be responsible for the company’s global sales structure, replacing existing positions in International Operations in the US, Europe and North Asia.

Takeda’s Chief Executive Dr Frank Morich will claim this position, who will lead sales strategies in the US, EU and key emerging markets.

The restructuring of the company is said to relect Takeda’s recent acquisition of Nycomed, which the firm described as “another significant step towards globalisation”.

Takeda fully acquired Nycomed in October in a cash deal worth €9.6 million.

Sales increased more than 10% at Sanofi in the third quarter to €8.7 billion, despite the loss of €471 million due to generic competition compared to the same period a year ago.

Total sales grew 10.1% along with an 11% increase in growth platforms after strong performances in its diabetes, vaccines and consumer health divisions.

Christopher A. Viehbacher, Sanofi CEO, says the return to growth in sales and earnings is an “important milestone as the company progressively puts the patent cliff behind it”.

Growth platforms and Genzyme accounted for 68.5% of total sales after the recently acquired business recorded sales up 6.9% to €768 million.

Pharmaceutical net sales were up a tenth to €6.9 billion and helped year-to-date net sales rise 5.5% to €20 billion, despite generic competition to Lovenox, Ambien CR and Taxotere in the US and Plavix (pictured) and Taxotere in the EU plus the impact of US healthcare reform and EU austerity measures.

Its diabetes division was driven by a strong US and Emerging Markets performance which resulted in a 12.4% increase in sales after Lantus recorded growth of 14.6% and 23.4%, in respective markets. Growth in Sanofi’s vaccine division also increased 16.7% after a solid demand for seasonal flu medication in the US.

The Sanofi Group now expects 2011 business net income to be between 2%-5% lower than last year’s total. “We continue to make strong progress in R&D with the submission of five new products and also in the tight control of our costs,” said Mr Viehbacher.

It was reported this week that Sanofi is set to overtake Pfizer as the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company by 2016.

Submissions have been recently filed for Lyxumia (lixisenatide) in the EU, Aubagio (teriflunomide) and Zaltrap (aflibercept) in the US; Visamerin/Mulsevo (semuloparin) in the US and EU; plus Kynamro (mipomersen) in the EU.

The company released its Q3 performance on the day it announced it was cutting jobs in its US R&D and sales divisions.

UK professional network Doctors.net.uk has been acquired by online healthcare company M3 USA, part of the global M3 group.

With M3 group companies owning online clinical networks in the US, Germany, Japan and Korea, the group can now reach over 1.5 million doctors worldwide with market research, education and healthcare promotions.

Doctors.net.uk is the largest and most active network of medical professionals in the UK, with a membership of over 184,000 doctors.

Richard Adams (pictured below), Chief Executive of Doctors.net.uk, said: “Doctors.net.uk has for some time been working towards adding a strong international footprint.” The network launched the Networks in Health alliance of European doctor communities in May.

“We believe that to best serve our members and our client interests, being part of a larger, multinational organisation will bring enormous advances and benefits,” Adams added.

“With a truly global footprint, M3 offers access to a compelling range of resources, and this exciting move will enable us to enhance and introduce many new services and solutions.”

M3 USA – short for ‘Medicine, Media, and Metamorphosis’ – aims to help life science companies influence medical practice via the Internet.

“This acquisition allows us to dramatically extend our services to doctors and the healthcare sector in the UK,” commented Aki Tomaru, CEO of M3 USA. “This is a stepping stone for M3 to expand further into Europe, and it signals our commitment to providing the life science industry full global access.”

Richard Adams, Chief Executive of Doctors.net.uk

Read more on this story by Pharmaceutical Field.