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Workforce cuts this year at seven companies involved in recent mergers and acquisitions will cost over 1,300 employees their jobs. Affected businesses include Arcellx and Tourmaline Bio, acquired by Gilead Sciences and Novartis, respectively.
So far in 2026, layoffs have hit at least seven biopharmas involved in a recent merger or acquisition. Those companies’ cuts will collectively wipe out a minimum of 1,359 employees’ jobs, according to
BioSpace
tallies. The largest workforce reduction is at CureVac—acquired by BioNTech—where 820 people will need to find other positions by the end of next year.
Below,
BioSpace
looks at the seven M&A deals where layoffs followed in 2026, sometimes just days or weeks after the transactions closed.
1. Gilead Sciences and Arcellx
Once Gilead Sciences closed its $7.8 billion acquisition of Arcellx, it didn’t take the pharma long to disclose it was slashing the biotech’s workforce. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices in
California
and
Maryland
were dated April 30, just two days after Gilead announced it had
completed the deal
. The pharma is laying off 192 Arcellx employees, likely
wiping out 87%
of the biotech’s workforce, according to a
BioSpace
estimate based on a March 1
employee count
.
Most affected staff worked at Arcellx’s headquarters in Redwood City, California, where 108 people were let go effective June 30. In Rockville, Maryland, 84 employees are being laid off between June 30, 2026, and April 30, 2027.
Mergers & acquisitions
Gilead Doubles Down on CAR T With $7.8B Arcellx Acquisition
The centerpiece of the takeover is anito-cel, a CAR T therapy under development for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. An FDA decision on the therapy is expected by December 2026.
February 23, 2026
·
2 min read
·
Tristan Manalac
Read more
2. BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Amicus Therapeutics
In early May, two weeks after BioMarin Pharmaceutical
announced completion
of its $4.8 billion acquisition of Amicus Therapeutics, Amicus disclosed it will lay off 58 staffers from its Princeton, New Jersey, headquarters. The cuts could affect around 11% of the biotech’s workforce, according to a
BioSpace
estimate based on an
employee count
as of Dec. 31, 2025.
The layoffs are effective from Aug. 7 to Oct. 30, 2026, according to the WARN
notice
.
A BioMarin spokesperson told
Fierce Pharma
the layoffs link to the acquisition, noting that “As with any integration of this scale, we are carefully evaluating how to align our organizations for long-term success. This process has resulted in headcount reductions, particularly in areas where there is overlap.”
Mergers & acquisitions
BioMarin Pumps Up Revenue Goals With $4.8B Amicus Purchase
BioMarin Pharmaceutical has faced a rocky road, promising and then backing off revenue targets and cutting assets that have underperformed. But Amicus’ rare disease portfolio is already bringing in $600 million annually.
December 19, 2025
·
2 min read
·
Dan Samorodnitsky
Read more
3. Novartis and Tourmaline Bio
While Novartis
completed
its $1.4 billion acquisition of Tourmaline Bio in October 2025, Tourmaline did not disclose layoffs until four months later, in February. The company divulged in a
WARN notice
that it was letting go of 60 employees at its New York City headquarters, effective May 29. The cuts may have affected about 79% of the biotech’s workforce, according to a
BioSpace
estimate based on an
employee count
as of Aug. 1, 2025.
In addition to letting employees go, Tourmaline also closed its headquarters, according to the WARN notice. The alert stated “merger” as the reason behind the closure.
Mergers & acquisitions
Novartis Deals in Cardio Again, Dropping $1.4B To Acquire Tourmaline
Novartis has been investing heavily in its cardiovascular pipeline this year, forging partnerships with Flagship startup ProFound Therapeutics and China’s Argo Biopharmaceutical, among others.
September 9, 2025
·
2 min read
·
Tristan Manalac
Read more
4. BioNTech and CureVac
BioNTech
completed
its $1.25 billion acquisition of CureVac in December 2025 and divulged layoffs five months later. In early May, BioNTech disclosed in a
quarterly report
that it will let go of about 820 people at CureVac by the end of next year. The workforce reduction could affect 83% of the biotech’s workforce, according to a
BioSpace
estimate based on an
employee count
as of Dec. 31, 2024, the most recent count filed with the SEC.
In its quarterly report, BioNTech noted that it plans to exit operations at Germany-based CureVac’s German and international sites, which host clinical and commercial-scale mRNA manufacturing capacities as well as research and development and enabling functions.
Legal
BioNTech Attacked CureVac’s ‘Failed’ COVID Vaccine Program. The Rivals Are Now Merging
BioNTech said in 2022 that it faced “threats of a groundless patent infringement suit” from a company that was “unable to bring to market any product to help in the fight against COVID-19.” Now, the mRNA biotech is buying that very company.
June 18, 2025
·
4 min read
·
Nick Paul Taylor
Read more
5. Biogen and Apellis Pharmaceuticals
In June, one month after
closing
its $5.6 billion acquisition of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Biogen
told
BioSpace
it is cutting a “small number” of roles within its research arm related to discontinued Apellis programs. The company did not specify how many of the biotech’s employees are affected. Apellis had
739 employees
as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Biogen had conducted a comprehensive review of the biotech’s clinical and preclinical portfolio and, as a result, decided to pause or terminate investment in most legacy preclinical programs, a Biogen spokesperson told
BioSpace
.
Mergers & acquisitions
Biogen Secures ‘Running Start’ in Kidney Disease With $5.6B Apellis Buy
In addition to delivering two approved medicines to Biogen’s portfolio, the acquisition of Apellis Pharmaceuticals will support the future launch of the pharma’s own kidney disease asset, currently in multiple Phase 3 trials.
March 31, 2026
·
4 min read
·
Annalee Armstrong
Read more
6. MindMaze Therapeutics and Relief Therapeutics
Earlier this month, eight months after
completing a reverse merger
with Relief Therapeutics, MindMaze Therapeutics announced it had
finished
an
organizational simplification
involving disposal of Switzerland-based Relief’s legacy operations. MindMaze Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Meinen
told
BioSpace
that “a handful” of Relief employees were let go and received notice periods of several months.
Meinen explained that rather than close Relief’s legacy operations in Switzerland, which employed around 25 people, MindMaze found acquirers for those businesses. New ownership retained “substantially all” Relief employees, with some remaining at MindMaze and others let go, he said. Meinen declined to specify the number laid off or name the acquiring businesses.
7. Sanofi and Blueprint Medicines
Sanofi and Blueprint Medicines had a long lag from deal closure to cuts. Earlier this month, 13 months after
completing
its $9.5 billion acquisition of Blueprint Medicines, Sanofi disclosed in a WARN
notice
that Blueprint is laying off about 229 employees in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the subsidiary is based. Effective from Oct. 9, 2026, to June 25, 2027, the cuts could affect around 33% of Blueprint’s workforce, according to a
BioSpace
estimate based on an
employee count
as of April 15, 2025.
In addition to the layoffs, the Cambridge facility will close Dec. 31, with “decommissioning work” happening through June 2027, according to the full WARN notice. As of Jan. 1, 2027, remaining Blueprint employees assigned to that location will start reporting to Sanofi’s U.S. office in Cambridge at 450 Water St.
Mergers & acquisitions
Sanofi Inks $9.5B Blueprint Buyout to Expand Rare Disease Portfolio
Blueprint has a next-generation systemic mastocytosis treatment, called elenestinib, that Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson told analysts provides an “opportunity to grow through the ‘30s.”
June 2, 2025
·
3 min read
·
Nick Paul Taylor
Read more
More layoffs could be ahead
While it’s unknown how many more layoffs will follow recent M&A deals, it’s possible additional cuts are on the way given how transactions have ramped up in 2026. During H1, there were
52 mergers and acquisitions
, up from
32 in H1 2025
, according to
BioSpace
tallies. Deals have continued into the second half of 2026, with at least 10 announced through Aug. 18. The largest transaction
BioSpace
reported is Vertex Pharmaceuticals’
$10 billion buyout
of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals.
One deal already linked to likely workforce cuts is the Supernus Pharmaceuticals and Indivior Pharmaceuticals merger announced at the start of this month. That business combination, expected to produce $2.2 billion in combined revenue, will likely result in “natural redundancies” in general and administrative roles, Supernus CEO Jack Khattar said during a recent investor call. Rockville, Maryland–based Supernus had
778 employees
and North Chesterfield, Virginia–based Indivior
838
as of Dec. 31, 2025.
M&A
Supernus and Indivior merge to create CNS mega-company with 11 approved drugs
Supernus Pharmaceuticals and Indivior Pharmaceuticals are outlining a combined expected $2.2 billion in annual revenue, plus $125 million in cost savings that will include “natural redundancies.”
August 3, 2026
·
3 min read
·
Gabrielle Masson
Read more
Layoff numbers exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms. To tally the cuts,
BioSpace
compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated through confirmation from company officials as well as information in company press releases,
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
notices, SEC filings and other media outlets’ reports.
Not all companies disclose downsizing, and some share only the percentage of staff affected. Some biopharmas provide total numbers retrospectively rather than disclosing individual workforce reductions as they happen.
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