AstraZeneca has launched a three-year cost-cutting initiative designed to reduce annual expenses by $1.5 billion, with the savings intended for reinvestment in research and development. The program is expected to be completed by the end of 2029 and will involve a one-time charge of approximately $2 billion. The company has not yet disclosed how the plan could affect jobs.
The drugmaker is also facing pressure from the loss of patent protection for some products, including the diabetes medicine Farxiga. Several other major brands, including three cancer treatments, are expected to lose exclusivity between now and the mid-2030s.
In India, regulators ordered Sun Pharmaceutical to stop manufacturing, selling and distributing ophthalmic products produced at its facility in Assam. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and the Drugs Controller Assam issued the order on Aug. 20 after a joint federal and state inspection found deficiencies in the facility’s quality-management system.
The regulatory action followed Sun Pharma’s voluntary recall in July of about 11 eye-care brands. The company had previously described the Assam site as a facility expected to become one of its largest manufacturing hubs for sterile products, an area it has identified as an important global growth driver.
Sources: STAT News.