A troubled Avanir has announced the termination of two research collaborations with AstraZeneca and Novartis and plans to move out of its San Diego research facility as it considers the sale of certain assets. Avanir says it expects to reduce operating expenses by $20 million. Company officials say that they are in talks with a variety of potential bidders for several of Avanir's experimental therapies and its schizophrenia treatment FazaClo.
Avanir's share price was hit by a wrecking ball late last month after the FDA announced that it would need to stage another trial of Zenvia in order to gain approval as a therapy for involuntary emotional expression disorder. CEO Eric Brandt left soon after the debacle, replaced by sales and marketing chief Keith A. Katkin.
In ending the two collaborations, Novartis is taking over all the development work associated with the macrophage migration inhibitor factor program. Avanir has the potential to earn milestones from the advancement of AVP-28225. AstraZeneca, meanwhile, is returning the rights to their program on reverse cholesterol transport enhancing compounds.
- see this release from Anavir
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