These 4 fading drugs may be behind NJ pharma layoffs

I read with interest Erin Vogt's article on our website about Novo Nordisk and other big Pharma companies in New Jersey laying off workers in droves.

Then I started to hear even more about it when The Patch zeroed in on two of New Jersey’s biggest pharmaceutical giants, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck. In that article, they cited the popular drugs that these companies are famous for.

Is “corporate restructuring” masking deeper trouble?

It got me thinking, is this just “corporate restructuring” or is there more? So I looked into these drugs and found out the official corporate line is always the same.

“Aligning resources,” “Optimizing our portfolio,” “Supporting long-term strategy,” You know the drill.

It’s the corporate version of “it’s not you, it’s me.”

Let’s be honest, companies don’t shed more than a thousand New Jersey jobs in one year because things are going great. Something is happening behind the scenes, and the pattern is pretty obvious when you look at their actual products.

Bristol Myers Squibb’s patent drama and falling demand

Bristol Myers Squibb depends heavily on Eliquis, its an uber-popular blood thinner.

The problem is that competition is heating up and they’ve had to start offering giant purchase discounts, including an 80% discount for Sotyktu, Reuters reported.

That doesn’t happen because a drug is flying off the shelves.

When you’re slashing prices like a Black Friday sale at Walmart, it usually means demand is soft or competitors are circling, or both. Their schizophrenia drug hasn’t been the hit they hoped for, and psoriasis has become one of the most competitive drug markets in the world.

There are so many biologics, biosimilars, and discount deals that patients have options everywhere.

Merck’s situation is bad, too. Gardasil demand in China dropped, and China was basically keeping those numbers up. If China stops buying, it shows up in earnings.

And then there’s Keytruda. According to Reuters, the most successful cancer drug on Earth is about to lose patent protection in 2028.

Once those doors open and similar dugs rush in, the revenue drop is inevitable

Yes, they’re trying to get ahead of it by pushing a different injection version, hoping to hang onto exclusivity until 2040. That’s smart, but until then, investors are nervous, profits are shaky, and layoffs become the easiest thing to do to fix it.

What NJ’s pharma layoffs really mean for local families

This isn’t just “restructuring,” it’s companies bracing for lower demand, fiercer competition, revenue decreases, patents expiring, etc. Also, pharmaceutical companies are always pressured to lower the prices of formerly expensive drugs.

And when things get tight, you know as well as I do that corporations don’t trim executive bonuses, they trim workers.

We’re the pharma capital of the country; these jobs are a big part of who we are. When hundreds of high-skill, high-salary positions disappear, it’s not some economic story, it hits families in everywhere in New Jersey.

The part nobody wants to say out loud is simple: When people use fewer drugs or cheaper alternatives, and when overseas markets cool off, even the giants feel it.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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