Japanese biotech, Ajinomoto, plans to lay off 71 employees at its California facility as part of a strategic move to streamline its CDMO business. This decision follows the company’s recent $620mn investment in Forge Biologics, as it looks to enhance its capabilities in the biologics manufacturing sector through the optimization of operations and focus resources on key growth areas.

The following article originally appeared in Fierce Pharma.

Following last year’s acquisition of viral vector and plasmid specialist Forge Biologics, Japan’s Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services is streamlining its business in San Diego.

As a result, 71 California-based staffers—or 13% of the company’s overall U.S. workforce—are set to lose their jobs, Ajinomoto said in a memo viewed by Fierce Pharma. Affected employees are in line to receive severance packages, the company added.

The layoff round is part of a broader scheme by Ajinomoto to consolidate its drug substance production at the Columbus, Ohio, plant it received in its $620 million buyout of Forge last fall. Moving forward, the San Diego site will focus on fill-finish services.

Ajinomoto says the move will allow both the San Diego and Columbus sites to drill into their areas of focus and better serve the CDMO’s customers.

Though Ajinomoto is slimming down in San Diego, the company still plans to carry out antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) work at the site, which comprises three separate facilities.

The move will have no bearing on other Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services sites around the world, the company stressed.

“This was a difficult but necessary decision to ensure that we are positioned for success in the future," Bert Barbosa, chief operating officer at Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services US, said in a statement. "I want to acknowledge the impact this decision will have on affected employees and express my sincere gratitude for their hard work and contributions to our organization.”

In November, Ajinomoto unveiled a $620 million, all-cash deal to acquire Forge Biologics, along with the fledgling CDMO’s 200,000-square-foot facility known as “the Hearth” in Columbus, Ohio. Three hundred Hearth staffers also came over as part of the transaction.

Forge, for its part, was founded in 2020. Shortly afterward, the company secured $120 million in investor cash to boost capacity and triple its workforce.

At the time of the buyout deal, Forge’s listed services included scalable, end-to-end manufacturing, including process and analytical development, viral vector manufacturing, final fill, plasmid DNA production and consulting support for gene therapy programs.

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