UPDATE 2-Belgian drugmaker UCB to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide
(Adds shares, CEO quote, background)
By Huw Jones and Ben Hirschler
BRUSSELS/LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Belgium's UCB (UCB.BR) said on Thursday it would cut 2,000 jobs or 17 percent of its workforce, highlighting the pressure on international drugmakers as industry profit margins are squeezed.
UCB's efficiency drive, part of a previously announced plan to focus its efforts on key areas of biotech medicine, follows sweeping job cuts by industry leaders such as Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L).
The pharmaceutical industry is currently struggling to develop new drugs to offset the loss of sales from products going off patent.
In UCB's case, this requires moving from reliance on older drugs such as hayfever medicine Zyrtec and epilepsy drug Keppra, which face patent expiry in the key U.S. marketplace.
"Patent expiries are challenging times," said Chief Executive Roch Doliveux. "The time is now to take action to shape UCB for the future and become a specialist company focused on successfully delivering our new medicines to patients."
UCB said it would make around 2,400 positions redundant and create about 400 new positions, and at the same time will re-deploy an estimated 300 positions to core sites.
The company said on Aug 1 that its revamp programme, called Shape, would re-allocate 300 million euros ($443.7 million) within the next three years towards increased investments into core business areas while seeking to improve competitiveness.
Analysts had expected job cuts to be a key part of the savings programmes.
UCB unveiled the job losses on Thursday as it seeks to transform itself into a focused specialist company in the central nervous system and immunology disease areas.
"These combined efforts should result in enhancing UCB's profitability and competitiveness in the fast-changing bio-pharma world," it said.
UCB is pinning its hopes for the future on new drugs such as Cimzia for Crohn's disease, Vimpat for epilepsy and Neupro for restless legs syndrome.
But industry analysts say it is unclear as yet how these new medicines will fare in highly competitive markets.
Shares in the company were 1.3 percent lower at 25.75 euros by 0845 GMT.
(Editing by Rory Channing)
