Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is shedding jobs, including at its Aliso Viejo headquarters.
The drug maker said in a state Employment Development Department filing that it cut 52 Aliso Viejo jobs, effective July 1.
The cuts covered multiple departments including information and technology and global marketing, a spokeswoman said.
Valeant said in May that it was cutting 1,250 jobs across the company as part of a restructuring, including the planned sale of its Poland-based European operations. The company said it expected the divestitures and cuts would be done within 12 months.
Eliminating jobs was the “first step” in Valeant’s effort to bolster profitability, Chief Executive J. Michael Pearson previously said.
At the end of March, Pearson said Valeant, which has annual sales of $870 million, no longer would try to be a global drug maker.
“We are not of enough size to compete and manage successfully in all these countries,” Pearson said.
Besides the European sale, Valeant sold its Asian unit to Invida Pharmaceutical Holdings Pte Ltd. of Singapore.
Turnaround specialist Pearson became Valeant’s chief executive in February, replacing Timothy Tyson, who had been Valeant’s boss since 2005.
Pearson’s a former McKinsey & Co. director who was hired to reverse a slump at Valeant.
Valeant is due to release second-quarter earnings next week.
In other Valeant news, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that Charles Bramlage, who was president of Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America regions, resigned as of July 1.
Valeant said it agreed to pay Bramlage, who came to the company during Tyson’s reign, $847,890 under the terms of a separation and release deal.
S & P; Pegs Edwards for Growth
Irvine heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. is one of 10 American healthcare companies that recently made Standard & Poor’s annual Global Challengers List. The list is made up of midsize companies that the rating agency says show the “highest growth characteristics.”
Standard & Poor’s examined U.S. and foreign public companies for its list. To be considered, each company must have a market value of $1 billion to $5 billion and have shown share price gains, earnings per share growth, sales growth and employee growth in the past three years.
Edwards had a market value of $3.4 billion at recent check.
The list is made up of entries from 33 countries. China led the overall list with 76 growing companies, followed by the U.S. with 73.
Other health companies include Chicago-based Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., a prescription drug benefit management company, and Perrigo Co., an Allegan, Mich.-based maker of generic drugs.
Endologix Sees More Expenses
Endologix Inc., an Irvine maker of devices to treat vascular diseases, posted a slightly wider net loss in the second quarter and said it was launching products.
Overall, Endologix posted a loss of $3.8 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $3.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales were $9.3 million, up 48%.
Endologix said its expenses were up 25% to $20.1 million, primarily driven by a 21% hike related to adding sales territories and paying higher commissions.
“While second-quarter expenses were (affected) by a number of factors, given our current financial resources, we continue to expect to reach cash flow positive without the need for an equity financing,” said John McDermott, the company’s chief executive, in a release.
In other Endologix news, McDermott said the company plans to launch a pair of products within nine months. One is an aortic cuff, which is used in aneurysm repair procedures. The other is a delivery system for Powerlink, its core blood vessel treatment device.
Bits and Pieces:
Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo said its cancer center received an award from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. Mission said it was one of 66 hospitals around the U.S. that received the award, which recognizes organizations that have measured up to 36 standards across cancer programs Children’s Hospital of Orange County was recognized for nursing excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The Orange hospital said it was among 24 children’s hospitals that have achieved the distinction ChromaDex Inc., an Irvine company that provides research tools for dietary supplements and food and beverage industries, said it licensed chemistry technology from the State University of New York. ChromaDex said the technology will be used to make a new class of “super fruit compounds,” which have antioxidant properties, for its customers Antigen Discovery Inc. of Irvine said it received a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Research Resources. The company said it will use the money to commercialize antigens it’s developing for use in vaccines and therapeutic and diagnostic products.
