2020 has been a year of realignment and redirection for a number of Orange County’s largest drugmakers.
The area’s collection of therapeutic firms, whose treatments address an assortment of issues ranging from cancer to wrinkles and fine lines, counts 11 companies with 30 or more local employees this year, according to this week’s Business Journal list, which ranks drugmakers by local employee count.
In total, those companies saw a 6% decline in their local workforce to 2,699 workers, compared to year-ago levels.
One new addition to the list is Newport Beach-based Evolus Inc. (Nasdaq: EOLS), which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of market approval for Jeuveau, its wrinkle-smoothing product that competes with Botox.
Allergan, which completed its $63 billion merger with AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) this year, maintained its lead at the top of the list with 1,267 workers here despite a 3% decline compared to the same period a year ago.
Allergan’s local employee base is about 50% of what is was five years ago, after several rounds of layoffs amid changes in corporate ownership.
Below, a closer look at shakeups at OC’s largest drugmakers this year.
Allergan Integration
Allergan provides AbbVie with “even more strength, firepower and a greater ability to drive innovation across the areas we are active in,” AbbVie President Michael Severino told the audience at the Ophthalmology Technology Summit last month, hosted by Aliso Viejo’s business accelerator Octane.
Integration between the two pharmaceutical powerhouses—despite continued remote operations for much of its workforce—has been relatively smooth due to new pillars of the business that complement its existing ones, Severino said.
For example, he said AbbVie will follow Allergan’s lead in the eyecare space as it looks to make an impact in glaucoma with its recently approved Durysta implant, which could have therapeutic capabilities that improve the patient’s condition.
Similarly, AbbVie gained a large foothold in the aesthetics market, as Irvine-based Allergan Aesthetics, led by Carrie Strom, continues to dominate the market with its Botox product.
It did however, take a short-term hit, revealing a 20% decline in Botox sales in its second quarter due to COVID-19.
Aesthetics Outlook
Evolus’ Chief Executive David Moatazedi expressed similar concern for its aesthetics business earlier this year, resulting in a move that cut its workforce by 18% in Newport Beach and 41% companywide.
The company recorded $7.8 million in its second-quarter sales, with about 90% of sales coming from the second half of the quarter and signaling a strong market recovery ahead.
“The commentary is consistent with what we have heard from other companies in the aesthetics market and encouraging as we head into 2H 2020, but much obviously remains unknown on how the pandemic will play out in the coming weeks and months,” Mizuho analyst Vamil Divan wrote in a report. “We increase our Jeuveau sales estimates and lower our operating expenses as the company seems to be effectively executing with the smaller infrastructure that they implemented back in April.”
Urovant Catapults
Irvine-based Urovant Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: UROV) in March hired Jim Robinson as chief executive, succeeding Keith Katkin, who remains an adviser to the clinical-stage urology-focused company, whose drugs are designed to treat issues including overactive bladder.
Katkin is a former CEO of Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Aliso Viejo and chairman of Novus Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: NVUS) in Irvine (see story, page 1).
Robinson oversaw the commercial launches of two of the most successful overactive bladder therapies in the U.S. as president of Americas Operations at Japanese giant Astellas Pharma Inc. before joining Urovant.
Urovant expects to receive FDA approval for its principal product, Vibegron, in December and is poised to launch into the market in 2021.
Ahead of its commercial launch, Robinson told the Business Journal in June it would grow from 85 to 300 workers including about 160 sales representatives.
Robinson has already started to deliver on that promise; the company increased its headcount by 71% in Irvine and more than tripled in overall size to 127 in 2020. It ranks No. 9 on this week’s list.
A trio of drugmakers on the list named new chief executives this year including Urovant; Tustin-based Avid Bioservices Inc. (No. 3) appointed Nick Green; and Dendreon Pharmaceuticals of Seal Beach (No. 5), which tapped Sanofi vet Jason O’Neill to lead its commercial expansion.
