NEW YORK – Gilead Sciences plans to lay off 7 percent of employees at its cell therapy business unit Kite Pharma as part of a new restructuring plan, a company spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.
Gilead plans to create roughly 90 new roles in new areas, making the net workforce reduction 5 percent. A company spokesperson said in an email that the firm is "performing well and making a meaningful impact for patients eligible for CAR T-cell therapy," but that "there is a great deal of opportunity to continue to drive the adoption of [its] therapies."
The Foster City, California-based drugmaker did not respond to a request for additional information about the strategic restructuring, such as the areas within Kite that would become more or less of a focus for the firm going forward.
"We are taking measures to further align our business for future growth, including streamlining some areas of the organization to better optimize operational efficiency," the spokesperson said.
In October, Gilead reported that cell therapy product sales for the fourth quarter of 2023 had increased 27 percent from the prior year's third quarter. Earlier this week, meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration listed two of Gilead's autologous CAR T-cell therapies, Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel) among a list of cell therapy products the agency is investigating for risks associated with secondary cancers.