Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies' venture into separate small-scale and large-scale business units doesn't appear to be working out as planned.
Tuesday, the CDMO revealed that it's reworking its small-scale business unit after taking hits from “the short-term impacts of reduced venture capital investment into early-stage research projects,” Fujifilm Diosynth said in a recent business update.
The lack of investment is particularly notable in the cell and gene therapy fields, according to the company.
In response, the manufacturer is restructuring its small-scale group to improve its operational and financial performance. As a result, up to 240 workers may lose their jobs.
Staffers at Fujifilm Diosynth’s sites in Texas, North Carolina and Massachusetts may be affected, along with those at a facility in England.
Still, the company said it is “committed to our people and sites in the US and UK and all the communities in which we operate,” Fujifilm Diosynth added in the release.
Other than those listed for potential cuts, Fujifilm also has a small-scale unit facility in Thousand Oaks, California. Large-scale operations take place at sites in Denmark and Holly Springs, North Carolina, which is set to come online in 2025.
The small-scale structure supports clients through “the regulatory matrix” of pre-clinical through phase 3 development, the CDMO explained in an August announcement divulging a new “strategic, customer-focused business structure.”
Those sites offer services for biologics, cell and gene therapies, oncolytic viruses and viral vaccines, plus characterization and process development.
The large-scale business unit, meanwhile, is for clients who require access to high-volume production equipment.
Fujifilm Diosynth's latest restructuring announcement came just before its parent company laid out financial goals for the coming years.