Novartis to cut US jobs ahead of patent expiries

Novartis AG will slash its US salesforce for general practice drugs as it forges ahead with a push into specialty medicines and seeks to streamline its business ahead of patent expiries. The 1,400 job cuts will come into effect on January 1, 2011 and the restructuring is expected to result in a one-time cost of around $85 million, the Swiss drugmaker said on Tuesday.

Novartis's pharmaceuticals business has over 13,000 employees in the United States, while the group as a whole has more than 18,000 workers there. The group has around 100,000 employees in total. The news comes after cross-town rival Roche said it would cut around 6 percent of its workforce, while Germany's Bayer has said it is planning to cut thousands of jobs as part of a €1 billion cost-cutting programme. Novartis is moving away from mass-market medicines used to treat ailments such as hypertension ahead of the patent expiry of key drugs over the next few years.