Impax Laboratories, a Hayward, Calif.-headquartered, technology-based specialty pharmaceutical company, is cutting about a quarter of its R&D work force—42 of a total of 49 job cuts—as part of an R&D reorganization and prioritization of project portfolios within the generic and brand businesses.

As a result, the generic R&D organization will be responsible for early stage product development and analytical functions for all Impax products, while the brand R&D organization will focus on phase II, III and IV clinical activities, drug safety and pharmacovigilance for all Impax products.

This realignment of the R&D organization and reallocation of responsibilities is intended to better optimize Impax's core technologies and scientific expertise, increase efficiencies and process improvements in key areas and allow Impax to maximize its investment in product development.

The company expects to realize approximately $8 million of annual cost savings beginning in 2015 and approximately $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. In the fourth quarter 2014, the company expects to record certain charges of about $2 million associated with the reorganization.  

"Our brand R&D team will now focus on existing late-stage opportunities, while the generic R&D team will continue to focus on a concentrated portfolio of high-value generic products," said Fred Wilkinson, president and CEO of Impax. "This structure also aligns the entire scientific team on the successful implementation of our quality improvement initiatives. We believe this organizational realignment allows us to take advantage of the internal strengths within R&D to the benefit of both the brand and generic businesses."