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Dendreon plans to lay off 500 following disappointing Provenge uptake

 
• By Nancy Faigen

Dendreon's restructuring in order to trim expenses will hurt. The Seattle-based firm said it would lay off 500 employees, or about one-quarter of its work force, in reaction to sales of its prostate cancer immunotherapy, Provenge (sipuleucel-T), that have fallen short of its ambitious projections. Although the largest proposed job cuts are in manufacturing, the company is still looking for a contract manufacturing partner in Europe as its moves toward filing for approval of the treatment there at the turn of the this year.

Dendreon's restructuring in order to trim expenses will hurt. The Seattle-based firm said it would lay off 500 employees, or about one-quarter of its work force, in reaction to sales of its prostate cancer immunotherapy, Provenge (sipuleucel-T), that have fallen short of its ambitious projections. Although the largest proposed job cuts are in manufacturing, the company is still looking for a contract manufacturing partner in Europe as its moves toward filing for approval of the treatment there at the turn of the this year.

No one is immune from the Provenge-induced cull. Within the top ranks chief operating officer, Hans Bishop, is departing although...

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In Brief: Bayer Commits Up To $1.3bn For Kumquat’s KRAS G12D Inhibitor

 
• By Mary Jo Laffler

Deal Snapshot: Bayer will take over development of the asset once Kumquat completes a Phase Ia clinical trial, but the biotech firm may opt in to share US profits and losses.

Pfizer/Astellas’s Padcev Scores First Big Win In Bladder Cancer Study

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The drug, combined with Merck’s Keytruda, was successful among certain chemotherapy-ineligible MIBC patients, with another Phase III readout expected by March 2026.

Boehringer Scores First Approval For Targeted Oral Drug In HER2-Mutant NSCLC

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The US FDA approved Hernexeos for previously treated HER2-mutant NSCLC, making it the first oral option in a setting where drugs like AstraZeneca/Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu dominate.

Genmab/AbbVie’s Epkinly Likely To See Label Expansion After Phase III Win

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The FDA is expected to rule on the anti-CD20xCD3 bispecific combined with rituximab/lenalidomide in second-line follicular lymphoma in November.

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Genmab/AbbVie’s Epkinly Likely To See Label Expansion After Phase III Win

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The FDA is expected to rule on the anti-CD20xCD3 bispecific combined with rituximab/lenalidomide in second-line follicular lymphoma in November.

Sanofi’s Sarclisa Wins Another EU Multiple Myeloma Nod In Its Unequal Battle With J&J’s Darzalex

 
• By Sushmita Panda

The French drugmaker's anti-CD38 antibody has racked up another approval in first-line multiple myeloma, but it marks a small victory while the company develops a subcutaneous version to help level the field with J&J’s Darzalex.

Jazz’s Modeyso Approved For Rare Glioma With Expansion Targeted

 
• By Jessica Merrill

The accelerated approval came three months after Jazz completed the acquisition of Modeyso’s developer, Chimerix.