Genentech vice presidents Vishva Dixit, M.D., Man-Wah Tan, Ph.D., and Todd McDevitt, Ph.D., are among the casualties in another round of layoffs at the South San Francisco subsidiary of Roche.
The departures are part of a restructuring of the Genentech Research and Early Development (gRED) group, a company spokesperson said in an email. Genentech did not reveal how many positions are affected, but the spokesperson said that “targeted adjustments” are being made to “ensure our capabilities and investments are aligned with our core therapeutic areas and portfolio priorities.”
The layoffs were first reported by Endpoints News, which cited an internal communication stating that Genentech was shutting down its physiological chemistry and infectious disease teams and reducing staff in other groups. The publication cited an email sent by Aviv Regev, Ph.D., the head of the gRED group.
Dixit, who has served at Genentech for 29 years, headed up the physiological chemistry unit. Tan, who has been at the company for 16 years, leads the infectious disease group, while McDevitt has been the chief of the cell therapy unit for the last three years.
“We are deeply grateful for their leadership, groundbreaking discoveries, and the impact of their work,” Genentech’s spokesperson said.
Along with the cutbacks, Genentech pointed out that it is still hiring for positions within gRED.
“These positions reflect the capabilities, expertise, and areas of science that are most critical to advancing our portfolio and delivering transformative medicines to patients,” the spokesperson added.
Layoffs are nothing new at Genentech. Last year, the company handed pink slips to at least 489 employees, with many of the changes handed down by Roche in a global manufacturing reshuffle and its incorporation of Genentech’s inclusion and belonging team into a broader unit run by the Swiss-based company. In April of 2024, a 3% workforce reduction by Roche affected 436 Genentech employees.
“To stay ahead in a fast-moving industry and continue to deliver world-class science and medicines, we must continually evolve how we work,” the Genentech spokesperson said on Thursday. “This requires making difficult decisions to focus our resources on the work that creates the highest impact for patients.”