Cuts were certain after trial drug failed

FAILURE to get approval for a blockbuster drug expected to reap billions is the main factor behind the loss of up to 545 jobs at Pfizer in Cork.

With the trial drug, torcetrapib, accounting for about 40% of the company’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) capacity in Ireland, cuts were inevitable when the anti-cholesterol medication didn’t win approval in the United States from the federal drug administration (FDA).

The three plants affected by the manufacturing cutback are at Ringaskiddy, where one of four API units is being closed down with the loss of up to 65 jobs; Loughbeg where the API operation, which employs 300 people, is being put on the market; and the API facility at Little Island, with 180 employees, which is also going up for sale.