Coley Pharma dumps hep C program, cuts staff

Coley Pharmaceutical of Wellesley, MA is shuttering its development program for the hepatitis C drug Actilon after a mid-stage trial failed to show any benefit in reducing viral load. Coley terminated 33 workers, or about a quarter of its staff, and announced that it is shifting gears in research to focus on RNA therapies that stimulate Toll-like receptors. The company is also outsourcing its drug discovery work. Altogether, Coley execs say the restructuring will save $15 million.

"As a result of these modifications to our drug development program, Coley plans to redirect the necessary resources in our efforts to expand and diversify our portfolio of product candidates and maintain our leadership position in the TLR Therapeutics space," commented CEO Robert L. Bratzler, Ph.D.

- check out Coley's press release
- here's the AP report on the restructuring

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