Nutley-Based Pharma Company Will Lay Off 91 Workers

NUTLEY, NJ — Japan-based pharmaceutical company Eisai, which recently moved its U.S. headquarters to Nutley, is planning to lay off nearly 100 workers at the end of April, according to state officials.

Eisai Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Co. Ltd., was recently listed on a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) advisory on the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development website.

According to officials, WARN notices offer protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs.

The 91 layoffs at Eisai will take effect by April 30. However, 88 of them will impact positions outside of the Nutley headquarters, a company spokesperson told Patch.

The layoffs are related to a recent agreement with biopharmaceutical company Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc., which acquired the U.S. rights for Fycompa, an anti-epileptic medication, from Eisai in January.

The spokesperson added:

“Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has said it is interested in retaining Eisai employees who work on Fycompa. Employees who qualify for these roles will have the opportunity to interview with Catalyst. In addition, employees who are eligible are being encouraged to explore other opportunities within Eisai. All Eisai employees who are displaced and not hired by Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will be provided transition assistance by Eisai. The transaction will provide the opportunity for Eisai’s neuroscience team to focus on its long-term strategic priorities on the research, development, and commercialization of its Alzheimer’s disease portfolio. Eisai will maintain its rights to Fycompa in countries and regions outside the United States and continue to support patients with epilepsy.”

Last year, Eisai relocated its U.S. headquarters to the ON3 campus on Route 3 at the border of Nutley and Clifton, the former home of another big pharma corporation, Hoffmann-La Roche.

Nutley town officials previously said that Eisai's U.S. headquarters would bring an estimated 800 jobs to the area. The company got a big welcome to town from Gov. Phil Murphy, who said Eisai's “extraordinary innovative research that will take place here will contribute to life-changing scientific and medical solutions for people living with cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.”

• See Related: Pharma Company Gets Warm Welcome To Nutley From Gov. Murphy

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