Marlborough drugmaker lays off hundreds amidst major corporate restructuring

Photo | Grant Welker Sunovion's Marlborough headquarters

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By Kevin Koczwara

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals and two other subsidiaries of the soon-to-be-combined Marlborough drugmaker Sumitomo Pharma America will lay off 223 workers as their Japanese parent company restructures the entire organization in America.

Starting on July 1, Sunovion will combine with six of the seven U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese parent company Sumitomo Pharma to form Sumitomo Pharma America, which will be headquartered in Marlborough.

Ahead of that restructuring, Sunovion plans to lay off 101 employees while Sumitomo Pharma Oncology in Cambridge plans 38 layoffs and Sumitomo Pharma America Holdings is planning another 84, according to the April 28 weekly notification of the Massachusetts Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, which requires employers to alert workers of planned layoffs.

The latest round of layoffs come after Sunovion laid off 360 employees at its Marlborough facility in November.

The Japanese drugmaker announced on April 3 it will restructuring its subsidiaries with Sunovion combining with Sumitomo Pharma America Holdings, Sumitovant Biopharma, Myovant Sciences, Urovant Sciences, Enzyvant Therapeutics, and Sumitomo Pharma Oncology to form Sumitomo Pharma America. Sumitovant’s CEO Myrtle Potter will serve as president and CEO of Sumitomo Pharma America after the companies combine.

The Japaneses company’s eighth American subsidiary, Spirovant Sciences in Philadelphia, will continue to operate as a standalone company under Sumitomo Pharma America.

"We remain deeply committed to addressing pressing health challenges and believe Sumitomo Pharma America will serve as a valuable growth engine,” Hiroshi Nomura, president and CEO of Sumitomo Pharma, said in the April 3 press release announcing the restructuring. “Sumitomo Pharma America will have increased scale and a combined network of resources and talent to accelerate a diverse portfolio of commercial and investigational programs for critical indications while creating a sustainable platform for growth."

Sumitomo Pharma purchased Sunovion, when it was still called Sepracor Inc., in 2009 for $2.6 billion. At the time, Sumitomo Pharma said the company would retain its name and continue to operate as an independent subsidiary, according to the press release announcing the agreement. Sepracor changed its name to Sunovion in July 2010 when the company restructured its American subsidiaries under one company.