Valneva, the Franco-Austrian (Corona) vaccine manufacturer headquartered in southern France, is in the red and is therefore reducing its business areas. Of the approximately 750 jobs in six countries, 20 to 25 percent must be cut. EUR 12 million must be saved annually and Austria, which employs about 160 people, is also affected. The jobs will be cut by the end of 2023 due to attrition and layoffs.
According to the company, a social plan is also planned. In addition to the Vienna BioCenter, the production facilities in Scotland and Sweden are particularly affected. Despite the current staff reduction, the company will have 25 percent more jobs after the restructuring than before the start of the development of the corona vaccine.
The biotech group produces several vaccines, including the inactivated vaccine against Corona called VLA2001. This was approved in the EU at the end of June, but the company faced numerous setbacks along the way. A few weeks later, the European Commission drastically reduced the supply contract to 1.25 million doses from the original 60 million, in part due to delays in the approval process and lower demand for vaccines due to an oversupply of vaccines in the EU. Valneva has since discontinued production.
CEO: “Reducing efficiency increases efficiency”
CEO Thomas Lingelbach said of the impending job cuts: “The downsizing of our business activities will allow us to increase efficiency and focus on achieving our operational and strategic business goals.”
In the first nine months, Valneva more than tripled its turnover to EUR 249.9 (previous year: 69.8) million. In short, the loss fell to 99.1 million euros after a minus of 227.6 million euros. Planned R&D expenditure has now been reduced to between EUR 95 million and EUR 110 million from the previously expected range of EUR 120 million to EUR 135 million. Valneva justified this with the gradual reduction in clinical trial expenditure and the accelerated phase-out of activities related to the Covid vaccine. For the full year, the group confirmed its sales target of EUR 340 to 360 million.
VLA2001 is an adjuvanted whole virus inactivated vaccine. The vaccine contains killed components of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and enhancers (adjuvants). It contains no preservatives. The vaccine can also be stored at refrigerator temperature for a longer period of time – a great practical advantage. Valneva once had high hopes for this vaccine
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
