The German company building a $70-million-plus drug manufacturing plant in Lynnwood plans to lay off thousands of employees worldwide, but its local operations should remain largely unaffected.
Bayer Schering Pharma, the result of Bayer’s acquisition of its fellow German company Schering AG, confirmed Friday it will cut about 6,100 jobs. Of those, about 1,000 positions are in the U.S.
Company spokeswoman Meredith Fischer said facilities in Connecticut and California would take the brunt of the job cuts. In this region, some of the company’s Seattle positions will be relocated to New Jersey.
Berlex, owned by Schering, operates offices and labs in both Seattle and Bothell. Schering also secured a partnership deal and 15 percent stake in Bothell-based Sonus Pharmaceuticals two years ago.
But the company is best known locally for building the state’s first large-scale drug plant just west of I-5 at 164th Street SW in the Lynnwood area.
The plant, which is preparing for the long regulatory certification process, plans to produce Leukine, an artificial form of a naturally occurring growth protein. It fights off infections in cancer patients who have been through chemotherapy or bone-marrow or stem-cell transplants. The drug, originally developed by Seattle-based Immunex, also is being studied for the treatment of Crohn’s disease.
Fischer said that facility should not be touched by the job cuts and other changes being made as Bayer absorbs Schering. That jibes with what local officials have heard as well.
“Certainly, the indications in recent discussions with them is this facility is not at risk, especially because it’s a new product,” said Matt Smith, vice president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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