Encysive Pharmaceuticals to Cut Workforce, Replaces CEO
HOUSTON, June 25, 2007 -- Encysive Pharmaceuticals today announced that George W. Cole has been promoted to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Dr. Bruce D. Given in those roles, and has also been elected as a member of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Cole has been Encysive's Chief Operating Officer since November of 2005. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cole served as President of Altana Pharma U.S. and as the chairman of Altana Pharma's global operating committee. Mr. Cole previously held management and sales and marketing positions at Searle, Adria Labs and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
``We are pleased to have George assume the roles of President and CEO,'' said John M. Pietruski, Chairman of the Board. ``George has been intimately involved in the business, including the building of our European and Canadian teams. His knowledge of the business and his leadership skills should serve us well as the Company considers its strategic options, while remaining focused on its most valuable assets.''
``I want to thank Bruce for his many contributions to the Company,'' added Mr. Pietruski. ``Bruce was key to the clinical development of Thelin(tm) and to our approvals in Europe, Australia and Canada.''
The Company also announced that it is implementing a strategic restructuring in order to focus its resources on its most promising assets. As a result, Encysive will reduce its U.S. workforce by approximately 70 percent, to about 65 people. Approximately 150 employees, including the U.S. sales force, will be terminated immediately, with a smaller group leaving in the coming months. The Company also eliminated the position of Chief Operating Officer.
Encysive is providing cash severance payments to employees directly affected by the workforce reduction. The Company estimates that it will record approximately $15 million in restructuring and severance costs in 2007. Encysive expects to end the second quarter of this year with approximately $58 million in cash. The Company also expects that, as a result of the strategic restructuring, its ongoing quarterly operating expenses will be approximately $20 million in Q3 2007 and approximately $15 million in Q4 2007.
STRIDE-3, the Company's ongoing study of Thelin(tm) in PAH, will be discontinued in the U.S. and Latin America.
Going forward, the Company will focus its resources on:
* Sales and marketing of Thelin(tm) in Europe, Canada and Australia.
* Plans for advancing Thelin(tm) for PAH in the U.S. market.
* Continuing the clinical development of TBC3711, the Company's second-generation endothelin antagonist. A Phase II dose ranging study in resistant hypertension is currently underway. In addition, there is an I.V. formulation of TBC3711 in development for an undisclosed indication.
* Continuing the Phase II proof of concept study of oral Thelin(tm) as a treatment for diastolic heart failure.
* Completing activities to maintain the value of its Chemokine C-motif Receptor 9, (CCR9 receptor antagonist) and its two late stage pre-clinical programs against an undisclosed target.
* Maintaining a scaled-back headquarters in the U.S. to accomplish the above goals.
About Encysive Pharmaceuticals
Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, synthetic, small molecule compounds to address unmet medical needs. Our research and development programs are predominantly focused on the treatment and prevention of interrelated diseases of the vascular endothelium and exploit our expertise in the area of the intravascular inflammatory process, referred to as the inflammatory cascade, and vascular diseases. To learn more about Encysive Pharmaceuticals please visit our web site: http://www.encysive.com.
The Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc. logo is available at http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=843.
This press release contains ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are: decisions by the FDA regarding whether and when to approve our NDA for Thelin(tm); unexpected delays in regulatory approval of Thelin(tm) by the FDA in the U.S. and our other products under development; the unpredictability of the duration and results of regulatory review of new drug applications and investigational new drug applications by the FDA; our estimate of the sufficiency of our existing capital resources; our ability to raise additional capital to fund cash requirements for future operations; the availability of sufficient funds to commercialize Thelin(tm) in the U.S. should it be approved by the FDA; the availability of sufficient funds to commercialize Thelin(tm) in the EU, Canada and Australia; market acceptance of Thelin(tm) in the EU, Canada and Australia and the actual rate of acceptance; the impact of reimbursement policies and governmental regulation of prices for Thelin(tm) in the EU, Canada and Australia; our inability to predict revenues from Thelin(tm) and our expense levels in 2007 and beyond; our ability to retain key personnel; our ability to execute our revised strategic plan and the impact of reducing our workforce on our strategic plan; the actual costs incurred in our restructuring; our ability to manufacture and sell any products, potential drug candidates, their potential therapeutic effect, market acceptance or our ability to earn a profit from sales or licenses of any drug candidate; and our ability to discover new drugs in the future, as well as more specific risks, trends and uncertainties facing Encysive such as those set forth in its reports on Forms 8-K, 10-Q and 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks, trends and uncertainties, any or all of these forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Therefore you should not rely on any such forward-looking statements. Furthermore, Encysive undertakes no duty to update or revise these forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits this discussion.