375 staff to go as Endo says its established pain drugs ‘no longer require field promotion’
Irish-based Endo Pharmaceuticals is eliminating its 375 pain drug sales staff, and will instead focus resources on its other core products. The move follows Endo terminating its licensing deal for the opioid painkiller Belbuca (buprenorphine) with BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI).
With the return of worldwide rights to Belbuca to BDSI, Endo says it has ‘a portfolio of established pain products that the company believes no longer requires field sales promotion.’ Opioid-based painkillers face significant pressure in the US, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared an ‘opioid overuse epidemic,’ issuing guidelines for prescribing them in March.
Endo plans to redeploy ‘a substantial portion’ of the $90–100 million (£72–80 million) in anticipated savings to support its core franchises, including developing collagen breakdown enzyme Xiaflex (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) as a treatment for cellulite. Xiaflex is already used to treat abnormal curvature of the fingers or penis caused by excessive buildup of connective tissue.
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