Indivior targets $70 million savings through job cuts, restructuring

(Reuters) - British drugmaker Indivior <INDV.L> said on Thursday it plans for up to $70 million in cost savings next year as it restructures its supply channels in the United States, including cutting an unspecified number of jobs.

The company, which makes opioid addiction treatments, said as part of its streamlining plan it would also suspend merit-based pay increases and cut down on third-party expenses.

"While some of the expected savings will be reinvested ... we will retain a large portion of the expected savings to preserve the group's flexibility through the COVID-19 pandemic," new Chief Executive Officer Mark Crossley said.

Indivior has been hurt by legal hassles and competition even before the virus outbreak began.

The drugmaker said its third-quarter performance has been in line with prior estimates, adding that sales of its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone Film were ahead of its own expectations.

Suboxone was one of the main treatments for addiction through a growing epidemic of opioid abuse in the United States.

Jefferies analyst Harry Sephton said the restructuring measures should be viewed as positive and added that he does not expect cost cuts to impact the roll-out of Indivior's Sublocade and Perseris treatments.

The company's shares were up 1.3% at 117.2p.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)