Nastech spins off RNAi unit, restructures

After a rough week that saw its stock price slide by 65 percent following Proctor & Gamble's decision to bolt from a collaboration deal, Nastech Pharmaceutical is laying off workers and restructuring its operations. For now, there's no estimate on exactly how many of Nastech's 197 workers face pink slips. But Nastech wants to concentrate its focus on late-stage therapies--including the osteoporosis product once partnered with P&G.

Nastech's RNAi business is also being spun off into a separate, publicly traded biotech. A spokesman for the company told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer they were already planning the spin-off. This is the second big partner to bolt from a pact with Nastech. Last year Merck dropped out of a pact with Nastech involving an obesity therapy.

- see this release on the cuts
- read the release on the RNA spin-off
- check out the report from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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