By CHEN Yang
Innovent, a leading Chinese biotech company, has been laying off staff.
A former employee, who was among those to lose her job, said dismissal notices were sent out from June 26 - 30, primarily affecting the manufacturing and quality departments.
Sources familiar with the situation said the company fired sales staff at the end of 2022. Innovent denies that anyone lost their job, speaking of improved efficiency and preventing redundancies.
According to the company's financial report, the company shed 274 workers in 2022 out of a staff of 5,568 at the beginning of the year.
Innovent, founded in 2011 and listed in 2018, achieved a remarkable IPO of US$485 million (approximately 3.5 billion yuan) as the most successful IPO among unprofitable biotech companies at the time.
In 2022, Innovent generated revenue of 4.6 billion yuan (US$600 million), but revenue from their primary income source, Sintilimab, declined by 29.7 percent due to a decrease in price.
Confronted with tougher domestic competition, Innovent has pursued opportunities overseas, though Sintilimab failed to get FDA approval.
Innovent is also gambling on high-demand areas such as antidiabetics and weight loss drugs, requiring substantial resources and time to yield returns.
