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Archive Manufacturing Archive Bespak warns of lay-offs | Bespak warns of lay-offs |
| Written by Ben Fountain | |
| Friday, 06 July 2007 | |
Slow uptake of Exubera, an inhaled diabetes treatment, has caused drug delivery devices specialist Bespak to warn of job losses at the Milton Keynes facility that produces the device.
 Bespak inhaler Bespak flagged up the possibility of ‘significant’ job losses at the Exubera facility, where 160 people work, but wasn't able to put an exact figure on the extent at this early stage. The medical device firm said that it is in discussions with employees and customers, adding that the losses may be offset by opportunities for employees to redeploy in other areas of Bespak's businesses. The MK-based firm said that its financial outlook for the year remained ‘robust,’ and scaling up of production in King's Lynn, reported by BW last month, remained on track despite the manufacturing cutbacks of the insulin delivery unit. Pfizer, the company for whom Bespak is manufacturing the insulin inhaler, is said to be disappointed with the slow uptake of drug, but confident of the future of its place in the market. “It's a setback, and early days in terms of the launch of Exubera,”said Mark Throdahl, Bespak CEO. The cost of the staff reductions are completely recoverable by Bespak, as a result of its cost plus contract with Nektar, the pharmaceutical firm which jointly developed Exubera with Pfizer, in which all costs are paid by the customer. “It's a new technique in administering insulin which requires consumer education and comfort, but it will benefit from the advertising campaign Pfizer has planned for this Summer,” said Throdahl. Bespak plans to offset the short-term impact of the scaling down with sales from other areas of its business, not least of which the strongly performing King and Emergent respiratory products marketed in the US. Bespak expects Exubera to account for around £15m of the £127m analysts expect the firm to generate this year. Nektar's Exubera Inhaler device as manufactured by Bespak |
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