P&G Pharmaceuticals Plans Job Cuts

Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical unit of Procter & Gamble Company (Cincinnati, OH, www.pg.com), will cut some 300 jobs this summer as part of an overall strategy to focus on in-licensing and acquisition of late-stage compounds and to reduce its internal drug R&D operations.

The majority of the cuts will come from P&G’s Health Care Research Center in Mason, Ohio, with some cuts at facilities in New York, London, and Toronto. The Mason research center employs 2560 people. P&G will decide which positions will be eliminated by June 30. The reductions will include scientists, researchers, and other technical positions.

P&G will put into place a new licensing and acquisition structure by the end of June. The new group will target drugs in Phase II development or later with a focus on three therapeutic areas: muscular–skeletal drugs, women's health products, and gastrointestinal drugs.