Over the next two years, Merck will shut down eight manufacturing plants, as well as eight research sites, as part of the ongoing Schering-Plough merger process. The company said in a statement that the various site exits will help “create a flexible R&D organization.”

Taking a page out of Pfizer’s book (Pfizer announced plans to cease production at eight of its global manufacturing sites in late May), Merck said it would try to make the transitions as painless as possible, working with local governments and other manufacturers to sell the plants in the hope of keeping workers employed. Still, Merck expects the worldwide cuts to total 15 percent of its work force by 2012.

Two of the sites being phased out are in the US, seven are in Europe, with the rest scattered from South America to Canada. Sixteen worldwide R&D labs were spared, and the company said it will continue to focus on cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious disease areas, as well as four others.

Merck is also hoping to find annual savings of $3.5 billion by 2012. In addition to creating a flexible R&D organization, the company will also save $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion as a result of this restructuring.

Show Notes:
This week we discuss:

• Pfizer’s medical education relationship with the Canadian Medical Association
• Journalists take FDA to task for not being transparent enough
• Layoffs and job cuts at Sanofi-Aventis
• New report shows that DTC receives more funding than sales calls in certain drug categories
• CEO compensation bump in life science

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The US may not have as many H1N1 flu vaccines available from the get-go as originally anticipated, CBS News reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, approximately 45 million doses will be available in mid-October—that’s down from the original plan of 120 million doses. The new plan calls for an additional 20 million doses to be distributed each week after the first batch of vaccines are given.

GlaxoSmithKline announced last Friday that it had begun development for the new vaccine, and that it had locked up enrollment for the first clinical study.

“GSK is making good progress with the development of its pandemic vaccine.” Enrollment into the first study has been completed, and in total GSK will conduct 16 clinical trials of its pandemic vaccine in over 9,000 individuals across Europe, Canada, and the US,” stated Thomas Breuer, head of Global Clinical R&D and chief medical officer of GSK Biologicals. “We continue to work closely with regulators and governments to assess and develop this vaccine.”

Medimmune has also started clinical trials on its H1N1 vaccine, and told the Washington Business Journal that it expects to manufacturer far more vaccines than the 12.8 million doses the government asked it to produce.

Meanwhile, Novartis has already begun shipping its seasonal influenza vaccine to get that out of the way before the second wave of the H1N1 flu hits.

“With the (A) H1N1 influenza pandemic underway, it is important that we take every possible precaution to help protect US citizens from all circulating strains of influenza,” stated Andrin Oswald, CEO of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, in a release. “By receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine early, physicians and public health officials can better prepare for the upcoming flu season.”

In an effort to boost its sales force without hiring more sales reps, Amgen announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with GlaxoSmithKline to co-market its osteoporosis treatment denosumab—currently pending FDA approval.

GSK will paying $120 million up front (along with royalties) to mutually market denosumab, or DMab, in regions where Amgen currently doesn’t have a strong sales force, such as China, India, and Brazil. The companies will tag team commercialization in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. Meanwhile, Amgen will handle all marketing in the United States and Canada.

“Our collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline will help Amgen bring the promise of denosumab to patients in Europe and other parts of the world more effectively than if we commercialized the drug globally on our own,” stated Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer in a release. “Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline together are uniquely positioned to help medical providers and patients understand the clinical promise and economic value of denosumab.”

Amgen is banking on denosumab being a blockbuster treatment, with analysts speculating that the drug could fetch $2 billion by 2018. The twice yearly injectible will go up against Merck’s daily osteo pill Fosamax, which went generic in 2007.