GTC Biotherapeutics--which won the first approval for a transgenic drug--is slashing its substantial workforce by about a third and has lined up a fresh round of financing. But the developer (GTCB) says that its cash reserves will run dry by the end of February unless a new partnership agreement provides the Framingham, MA-based biotech with a fresh injection of capital.
GTC is cutting its staff from 154 to 109 in a restructuring aimed at reducing its burn rate. And it announced that a venture firm has provided the developer with $10 million in fresh financing. But the money will only fund the company until the middle of the first quarter.
"The financing completed earlier this week with LFB Biotechnologies is an important step in strengthening GTC's financial position and in working towards the objective of meeting Nasdaq's compliance requirements. It is also an important demonstration of LFB's commitment to GTC's technology and products," stated Geoffrey F. Cox, Ph.D., GTC's chairman and CEO. "Moving forward, we are focusing on our key programs, ATryn and Factor VIIa. We will progress our other portfolio programs as we have partnering revenues to support them. We are also taking the opportunity to prudently and appropriately restructure our organization to meet the requirements of these key programs and maximize the impact of our cash resources including a reduction in our work force from 154 to 109 people. These changes are expected to provide savings of $5-6 million on an annualized basis."
- check out GTC's release
- read the story from the Boston Business Journal