Maker of Narcan will lay off 34 at its Gaithersburg headquarters

Emergent BioSolutions is laying off 34 employees at its Gaithersburg headquarters.

The cuts are part of the company’s restructuring, which includes laying off about 90 people across its locations. The Gaithersburg layoffs will take effect on Oct. 4, according to a notice filed with the state labor department Wednesday.

Emergent BioSolutions develops and manufactures products to treat opioid overdoses, including Narcan Nasal Spray. It’s also produced vaccines and other products to address public health threats, including Ebola and COVID-19.

The company estimates that the restructuring will save close to $40 million per year, its leaders wrote in a news release. It is also eliminating vacant roles, closing two Maryland laboratories and selling an office building. In addition, it’s creating a new organization focused on growth that consolidates research, business development and strategy.

A majority of the eliminated roles in Gaithersburg were research and development positions, Assal Hellmer, the company’s vice president of communications, wrote in a statement to The Banner.

“These decisions are difficult, and not a reflection of the talent, dedication or contributions of our colleagues,” Hellmer wrote. “The restructuring is intended to improve our overall cost structure, to drive more streamlined efficiencies, and to align resourcing to the current needs of the organization.”

As of January 2026, the company employed about 900 people in North America and Europe, according to its website.

This is not the first round of layoffs at Emergent BioSolutions in the last few years. In the spring of 2024, the company eliminated about 300 jobs and closed manufacturing facilities in Baltimore and Rockville. The company also cut 132 positions in early 2023 and another 400 workers later that year.

The 2023 layoffs came as the company shifted away from contract drug manufacturing in order to focus on expanding access to Narcan nasal spray and medical countermeasures.

Three other companies have announced mass layoffs in Montgomery County this summer.

General Dynamics Information Technology is laying off 32 people in Germantown, and Microsoft’s ZeniMax Media is cutting more than 350 jobs across Maryland, including 166 roles in Rockville. And EchoStar, a telecommunications firm, recently filed notice that it will soon lay off 330 people across three facilities in Gaithersburg and Germantown.