BioMarin to cut 170 jobs, mostly in the North Bay area

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. plans to cut about 170 positions, mostly in the North Bay, as it stops work on four drugs in development.

The San Rafael-based maker of treatments for rare disorders detailed 162 planned layoffs in state and federal regulatory filings. Those include 71 at the Novato research-and-development campus, 57 at headquarters, one in Petaluma, three in Brisbane just south of San Francisco, and 30 remote positions, with 13 of those in California.

The layoffs represent 5% of the 3,401 employees as of Dec. 31.

“We are grateful to the impacted employees for their dedication to our mission of developing transformative medicines for patients,” the company said in an email statement.

“BioMarin is committed to providing support through this transition for those employees impacted. BioMarin was founded in Novato and remains deeply committed to the North Bay.”

In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing May 14, BioMarin said the company informed the affected workers that day and that the cuts would result in pre-tax charges of $15 million to $20 million in the second quarter.

BioMarin on April 26 announced it had completed a review of its pipeline of products, deciding to accelerate work on three products with the highest chances of success while discontinuing efforts on four. The company emphasized that the net operational cost savings, offset by more spending on the faster-development products, would be $35 million to $40 million this year.

The state WARN Act filing said the cuts would be finished by July 13, but workers could apply for other jobs in the company.

The one position affected in Petaluma was listed at 1600 Fisher Drive. BioMarin received city Planning Commission approval in 2019 to build a two-building, 72,000-square-foot research-and-development center at that location.

Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction and real estate. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.