New Jersey Pharma Firm Announces Major Job Cuts Following Safety Concerns Over Liver Drug
A pharmaceuticals company’s safety problems in New Jersey have led to the loss of 146 jobs. The company laid off workers weeks after federal regulators told them to stop selling the medicine in the U.S., which worried patients and doctors.
Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Morristown, said in a state filing that layoffs will start in December and go until 2026. WARN said that this cut affects workers in many divisions as the company makes changes.
Intercept says it will support staff members who are affected get through this terrible period. Even though the company had to reorganize, it congratulated its staff and promised to make patient care better.
It was decided after looking over Intercept’s liver medicine for primary biliary cholangitis. The post-approval study didn’t show any significant therapeutic effect, which worried the FDA in 2025. Even more worrying, patients in the early stages were more likely to have serious problems, such needing a liver transplant or dying.
The FDA limited the drug in 2021 after reports connected it to liver damage and failure. Patients with severe liver disease got worse quickly after starting treatment, which suggests that the medicine may have caused these negative effects. Since the medicine was approved by the FDA in 2016, there have been many reports of serious injuries and deaths.
In September 2025, at the FDA’s request, Intercept took the medication off the U.S. market. They did this because of all the evidence that was coming in. By the middle of November, US patients could no longer get the drug. Even if there were different viewpoints about the safety of medications, the move was meant to help doctors and patients.
Even though the medicine was pulled off the market, corporation management stress its benefits for certain patients based on both clinical and real-world data. The president of Intercept in the U.S. disagrees with the FDA’s evaluation of the risks and benefits of medicines, but he respects the agency’s power and judgment.
The layoffs in the pharmaceutical industry highlight how rules and safety issues effect the business. Employees and patients are worried about the company’s future as it deals with a high-profile drug safety concern.
Sources:
- Official notices from the Food and Drug Administration about safety communications and reviews of drugs after they are on the market.
- Intercept Pharmaceuticals filed a WARN with New Jersey.
- Statements from Intercept Pharmaceuticals about their workers and stopping making drugs.
