Dendreon Will Close Morris Plains Plant, Cut 600 Jobs

Biotech company Dendreon Corp. announced this week it is closing its Morris Plains facility and cutting hundreds of jobs over the next 12 months as part of a restructuring plan to increase profitability and future growth, according to a company statement.

The cancer research and treatment company said its aiming at reducing costs by approximately $150 million annually with the new plan.

The restructuring plan, which the company says will take a year for full implementation, will cut more than 600 full-time and contractor positions.

With these changes, the company believes it will be "cash flow positive when net product revenue reaches approximately $100 million in a quarter."

With the closure of the local plant, Dendreon expects to reduce its cost of goods sold to less than 50 percent of net product revenue, down from 77 percent for the quarter ending on June 30.

"This restructuring sets a new course forward for Dendreon, accelerating our path to profitability and future growth," company chief executive officer John H. Johnson said in a statement. "Since we first launched Provenge, we have continued to look for ways to improve the methods of producing and distributing the first autologous cellular immunotherapy for cancer more efficiently."

The statement says that the new plan will work to restructure technical operations and administrative functions, and strengthen commercial operations.

The statement reads, "Dendreon will reconfigure its network to operate at a significantly lower cost, while continuing to meet customer demand and expectations for future growth, without any disruptions in service."

The company says that it expects to manufacture $1 billion worth of Provenge, the treatment for prostate cancer, at its other two facilities in Union City, Ga., and Seal Beach, Calif., while reducing costs and doubling production. The company expects to close its Morris Plains plant in the fourth quarter of 2012.

"With a more robust commercial organization, we can further establish Provenge as the foundation of treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer," executive vice president of global commercial operations Joe DePinto said in the statement. "We remain committed to providing our physician customers with the quality products and high levels of service that they have come to expect from us.