Orange County’s small crop of drug makers grew employment by 4% in the past year for a total of 4,207 local jobs.
That’s according to the Business Journal’s annual list of drug makers based in OC or operating here. The list includes 10 companies and is dominated by Irvine’s Allergan Inc.
But it was No. 2 Teva Sicor, a unit of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., which led the job growth.
The company added 115 jobs, a 15% increase, for a total of 865 people in Irvine.
Teva, which makes injectable generic drugs in Irvine, accounted for 70% of the added jobs among the drug makers on the list.
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The company’s Irvine operation is the result of Teva’s buy of Irvine’s Sicor Inc. nearly three years ago. Teva spent some $3.4 billion at the end of 2003 to buy Sicor, which had been based in Irvine since 1997 after its earlier years as a branded drug maker out of the San Diego area.
The list comes with a caveat: Several employment figures are Business Journal estimates, including for No. 1 Allergan, which hasn’t broken out local job figures for several years.
Excluding estimates, local drug employment grew 16% to 1,167 workers.
No. 3 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International of Costa Mesa rounds out the big three drug makers here, along with Allergan and Teva.
Valeant is estimated at 430 local employees.
Earlier this summer, the company filed a notice with the state Employment Development Department indicating that it planned to cut some 70 jobs in Costa Mesa and in Irvine.
Valeant has cut a number of jobs and shed many of its operations following a board and management shake-up four years ago that ended the company’s life as ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Real estate sources say Valeant is looking to sell its longtime Hyland Avenue corporate headquarters and lease space in South County.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., the No. 4 drug maker, saw its local employment grow 22% to 107 workers. The company said the growth came across the board, including hires for pre-clinical work, clinical research, business development and at Avid Biosciences Inc., a subsidiary.
Peregrine’s drug roster includes Tarvacin, a hepatitis C treatment that’s been cleared for trials by the Food and Drug Administration.
Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc., a publicly traded eye drug maker from Irvine, was No. 5 on this year’s list with 82 local employees.
Ista’s drug roster includes Vitrase, a drug that fights back-of-the-eye bleeding, and Istalol, a treatment for glaucoma.
Local sales and marketing offices of large global drug makers also made the list.
Pfizer Inc. of New York, which has operations at Irvine Center Towers near John Wayne Airport, ranked No. 6 on this year with 70 workers.
No. 7 Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Irvine-based drug developer, reported 44 local workers, up 47% from last year.
A large portion of the gain was in research and development. Spectrum reported an 85% jump in that portion of its work force to 24 employees, from 13 last year.
Spectrum has shifted its focus from generic drugs to brand name products. The company recently signed a deal with Par Pharmaceuticals Co. of New York to sell and ship its generic drugs, freeing up resources to work on other products.
Par, a generic drug maker with yearly sales of $435 million, also has a stake in Spectrum.
Stason Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Irvine cancer and diabetes drug company, is No. 8 on this year’s list. It has 42 workers, up 40% from last year.
A Stason spokeswoman said the gain came with an expansion of its facilities earlier this year.
New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the No. 9 drug maker, has an estimated 40 workers in its Aliso Viejo distribution offices.
No. 10 Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is in Irvine, rounds out this year’s list.
Cortex, a maker of neurological and psychiatric drugs, said it had 27 workers in OC, up 17% from last year.
