Drug delivery company SurModics said this morning that it's reorganizing its operations into three business units and cutting its staff by about 13 percent. The developer didn't say how many positions would be eliminiated.
SurModics' three units will include medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. The Eden Prarie, MN-based company is developing drug delivery technologies for injectable therapeutics, including microparticles, nanoparticles and implants. Last year Roche and Genentech inked a $200 million licensing deal to use SurModics' microparticle delivery technology to develop a sustained drug delivery formulation of Lucentis as well as other opthalmology drugs. The company expects to take a one-time restructuring charge of $1.3 to $1.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Also, in connection with these initiatives, SurModics will save $3.0 to $3.5 million annually.
"In the midst of conducting SurModics' annual strategic planning review, it became apparent that the businesses in which we compete would be best served by a more focused business unit approach that is designed to drive improved profitability," said SurModics chairman Robert Buhrmaster. "These changes better position SurModics for both financial and operational success."
- check out the SurModics release