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According to a post on the Wall Street Journal Health blog, Wyeth announced today that it is laying off about 1,200 marketing and sales representatives who helped support Protonix, its blockbuster heartburn and acid reflux medication. The job cuts are part of a previously announced “asset reallocation plan” that is designed to reduce the size of the company’s workforce by about 5% this year, and by 10% over the next three years.

The company employees about 50,000 people worldwide with roughly half of them in the U.S.  Like some of its competitors, Wyeth is facing stiff generic competition for several products that are slated to lose patent protection over the next couple of years and recently has had trouble getting many of its new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

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Wyeth announced yesterday that it is introducing a generic version of its blockbuster heartburn medication Protonix. The company is embroiled in nasty patent litigation with Israel-based Teva, one of the world’s largest generic drug manufacturers. The lawsuit, filed by Wyeth, claims that TEVA violated a violation of Protonix's patent which is set to expire in 2010. Teva introduced a generic version of the drug in December, which caused Protonix's sales to plummet, but then agreed to temporarily halt selling its rival product, known as pantoprazole, as the two companies engaged in settlement talks.

Protonix, one of Wyeth's top sellers, posted $1.45 billion of sales in the first nine months of 2007. Wyeth yesterday said its generic version would be distributed by Prasco Laboratories, a closely held Cincinnati company. A Teva spokeswoman declined to comment on what Wyeth's generic version means for settlement talks or whether Teva will resume sales of its own generic.

A steep drop in Protonix sales, which would be expected in the face of generic competition, would deliver yet another blow to Wyeth, which has tried and failed to win approval for some of its new medications including Pristiq for menopause symptoms and bazedoxifene for osteoporosis. Wyeth’s unprecedented move of a introducing a generic version of Protonix before patent expiry indicates how reliant the company is on sales of its blockbuster product.

If a court finds that Teva violated the Wyeth patent, Teva may have to pay triple damages awarded to the patent holder.

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Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Israel)!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Well, it had to happen sooner or later.  Wyeth said on Friday it is considering cost cuts that could eliminate 10 percent of its work force over a three-year period.

Wyeth, whose earnings prospects have been hurt by delays last year in approvals of new medicines and the recent launch of a generic form of its blockbuster Protonix ulcer medicine, currently has 50,000 employees worldwide.

A company spokesperson said "It is premature to even begin to discuss which positions will be affected or how (job cuts) will be achieved. We are evaluating our business and trying to find ways to be more efficient, and part of that is to keep costs under control". He noted that details of the initiative will be presented to employees toward the end of March.

Stay tuned for more details!!!!!!

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On Thursday of last week, Wyeth suffered another blow in a long string of regulatory missteps and intellectual property disputes after a judge ruled that Teva (one of the world’s leading generics companies) and its marketing partner Sun Pharmaceuticals could begin marketing a generic version of Wyeth’s popular anti-heartburn medication Protonix. In the decision, a US district court judge refused to uphold Wyeth’s request to extend an injunction against Teva from marketing its version of Protonix. Teva, which is involved in a patent lawsuit with Wyeth and Altana over Protonix, has not yet said whether it will launch the product.
The patent lawsuit between the companies dates back to 2004. In July 2007, Teva agreed not to launch a generic version of Protonix until either a preliminary injunction was denied or it expired (which happened on Friday). Teva could launch the drug, but it would be considered at-risk because of the pending patent dispute.

The company could face fines if it launches the generic version and ultimately loses the patent lawsuit. The Protonix patent is due to expire in 2010. Protonix sales average around $2.0 billion per year. Introduction of a generic version of the drug could result in a 50% loss in sales for Wyeth.
Wyeth stock price fell sharply after the decision was announced. Wyeth stock has been hammered hard in the past three weeks, which is likely to result in layoffs and job cuts in the near future.

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