Chiron idles Puerto Rico manufacturing facility and downsizes operations at Amsterdam facility.EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 1995--In an effort to reduce its operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales and control expenses, Chiron Corporation Chiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CHIR CHIR Chiricahua National Monument (US National Park Service) ) announced today that as a result of excess manufacturing capacity for Betaseron (interferon beta-1b interferon beta-1b Betaferon (UK), Betaseron Pharmacologic class: Biological response modifier Therapeutic class: Antiviral, immunoregulator Pregnancy risk category C Action), the company will idle but not close its facility in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. by reducing its workforce there, and also will reduce the manufacturing workforce in its Amsterdam facility.As a result of this decision, Chiron will recognize a restructuring charge restructuring charge The expense of reorganizing a company's operations. A restructuring charge is an infrequent expense that generally results from asset writedowns or facility closings. in its 1995 first quarter results, but operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. in subsequent periods will be reduced compared to what these expenses would have been, until the operations in Puerto Rico and Amsterdam are re-started. Betaseron was licensed in the US as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in July 1993. Over the past 18 months, Chiron has made significant improvements to the efficiency of its Betaseron manufacturing process, and has rapidly expanded its manufacturing capacity for Betaseron and other products at several facilities, including Emeryville, Puerto Rico and Amsterdam, to meet patient demand for marketed products and to supply products for clinical trials. As a result, the company believes that it has sufficient capacity in its Emeryville facilities to meet the current needs of US and Canadian MS patients for Betaseron. Because Chiron currently has no other unmet manufacturing or product finishing requirements, the company is laying off the majority of its permanent workforce in Puerto Rico, and also is reducing its manufacturing workforce in Amsterdam. Chiron will employ a small number of people in Puerto Rico to maintain the plant's readiness so that as manufacturing needs for Betaseron or other products arise, the process for validating and licensing the plant can be re-started. Chiron's Amsterdam plant will continue to support the company's Emeryville operations with product labeling and distribution, and will manufacture biologicals for research and clinical use by Chiron and corporate partners. Chiron manufactures Betaseron for Berlex Laboratories, Inc., a US affiliate of Schering AG, Germany, which markets the product in the US. Berlex Canada also plans to market in Canada product manufactured by Chiron. In Europe, Schering AG plans to market the product under the trade name Beneseron, either manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim, for which Chiron will receive a royalty, or by Chiron. Schering AG has applied and is awaiting approval for the right to market Betaseron in a number of countries outside the US. Chiron Corporation, headquartered in Emeryville, applies biotechnology and other techniques of modern biology and chemistry to develop products intended to improve the quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating human disease with a goal of reducing overall healthcare costs. Chiron participates in the global healthcare industry through its businesses in diagnostics, therapeutics, adult and pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. vaccines and products for the surgical correction of vision. CONTACT: Chiron Corporation, Emeryville Larry Kurtz, 510/601-2476 |
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