Roche to cut 20% of Boulder workers

69 jobs to be lost as drug maker changes strategy

Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 19, 2007 at midnight

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The Boulder unit of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG is laying off 69 employees, or almost 20 percent of its work force.

The cuts reflect a change in Roche's overall business strategy.

Roche Colorado spokesman John Tayer said the company is refocusing its efforts on products involving highly active compounds and peptides, used in such drugs as the HIV treatment Fuzeon that Roche makes and sells.

Roche, by contrast, is scaling back work involving small molecule products.

"It's part of Roche's global strategy," Tayer said. "And in that strategy we've been targeted as a center of excellence for peptides."

Peptides involve large chains of amino acids.

Roche Colorado employs 359 workers at its Boulder site. Employees there are involved in drug development and manufacturing.

Tayer said the job cuts would affect all departments.

Asked whether the revamped strategy could lead to job gains in the future, Tayer said: "We're very confident this is a solid business plan for our site . . . and will keep us strong for the future."

Roche markets Fuzeon for its developer, North Carolina-based Trimeris Inc. Roche Colorado manufactures the drug.

Approved in 2003, Fuzeon is used in combination with other drugs. It's targeted for HIV patients who have had other treatment that failed to stop the progression of the virus.

Fuzeon also has run up against competition from rival AIDS drugs produced by U.S. drug companies Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc.

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2467

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