Alexza cuts staff, ends Endo deal

Mountain View, CA-based Alexza Pharmaceuticals announced today that it's consolidating operations and cutting 52 jobs--33 percent of its staff--in the process. The company expects the move to reduce its expenses by approximately $21.5 million this year and $11.1 million in 2010. The layoffs will give Alexza enough cash resources to maintain its currently planned operations into the second quarter of 2010. It will focus its development efforts on AZ-004, its lead product candidate in late-stage clinical development for the acute treatment of agitation in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. An NDA filing is anticipated in 2010.

"Alexza has made substantial progress with its Staccato technology and product candidates over the past several years, but find our industry faced with an intensely difficult funding environment, which is critical to the growth of life science companies," said CEO Thomas King in a statement. "The difficult choices we are making reflect that reality, even in the face of our own internal successes."

In addition the the layoffs, Alexza and Endo Pharmaceuticals said they made a mutual decision to end their their development agreement for the Phase I drug candidate AZ-003 (Staccato fentanyl). In a statement, Endo said the decision was part of the company's ongoing strategic review, which was initiated last year. Alexza won't commit additional resources to AZ-003 in 2009.

- here's Alexza's release [1]
- check out Endo's statement [2]

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Alexza panic drug fails proof-of-concept trial [3]