Fast on the heels of a trial failure, Genaera announced a restructuring that will claim close to one third of its employees--13 jobs--and the sale of non-core assets. Back in January, the drug developer announced that it was shuttering the development program for an experimental therapy for wet, age-related macular degeneration after determining that it was no better than existing drugs. In the restructuring, the company announced that it would focus on the development of an obesity drug while pursuing its collaboration with MedImmune on a new asthma drug. Genaera also announced that it has named Leanne M. Kelly, CPA, the company's senior vice president and former controller, as its new CFO. The company had $33.8 million on hand at the end of 2006.
"We have determined that our best opportunities for success moving forward are to concentrate our internal efforts on progressing Trodusquemine efficiently into the clinic, while MedImmune continues to advance development of our anti-IL9 antibody (for asthma)," said Jack Armstrong, president and CEO of Genaera. "We believe that this research focus and our strong cash position will allow us to capitalize on the clinical promise and market potential of these exciting programs."
- check out the release from Genaera
- read the report on Genaera from the Philadelphia Business Journal
Related Article:
Genaera cans AMD therapy, slashes staff. Report