Pfizer will lay off approximately 210 employees at two of its facilities in eastern North Carolina.
According to paperwork filed with the state, 150 workers at its Sanford manufacturing facility and 60 workers at its Rocky Mount facility will be let go. Each site has more than 3,000 employees.
The Sanford facility manufactures vaccines, gene therapy drugs, and other products and has been the primary site for the production of a Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy under development, Ciffreo. According to a statement from the company, the layoffs are related to a phase III clinical trial failure for the treatment.
The Rocky Mount site manufactures more than 50 sterile injectables, totaling nearly 25% of all of Pfizer's sterile injectables used in hospitals.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce lists the effective date of termination as July 31 for laid-off employees at both sites.
