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Targanta Cuts Staff 75% After Oritavancin Complete Response(BioWorld Today Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Restructuring News Targanta Therapeutics Corp. reacted to recent news that it needs another study of its oritavancin candidate by cutting 75 percent of its staff. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company eliminated 86 jobs, including several top executives, but said it is keeping 27 employees to push toward approval of oritavancin in the European Union, clarify the redefined pathway with the FDA and develop a protocol for a new Phase III study required by the FDA. Targanta's shares fell 40 percent after the FDA issued a complete response letter and asked for another study of oritavancin, an investigational antibiotic being developed for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs). (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 10, 2008.) Mark Leuchtenberger, president and CEO of Targanta, said the FDA's complete response letter transitioned Targanta "from a company preparing for the commercial launch of its lead drug candidate to a late-stage clinical development company." The FDA's decision followed a negative opinion on oritavancin from the agency's panel of outside advisers, which voted 10 to 8 that Targanta's data failed to demonstrate that oritavancin was safe and effective in treating cSSSIs. While the committee voted 11 to 6, with one abstention, that Targanta's Phase III ARRI study demonstrated the effectiveness of oritavancin, panelists voted 10 to 8 that the firm's ARRD trial did not. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 18, 2008.) As part of the restructuring and to further reduce costs, Chief Development Officer Pierre E. G. Etienne, Chief Commercial Officer Mona Haynes and Vice President of Operations Roger D. Miller are leaving the company. The company's stock (NASDAQ:TARG) lost 22 cents, or 26 percent, to close at 63 cents Friday. In other restructuring news: ? Oncothyreon Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., is laying off eight workers in its Edmonton, Alberta, facility in addition to closing a production facility in Tucson, Ariz., and selling its Stimuvax therapeutic cancer vaccine to Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, for $13 million. The company is focusing its near-term efforts on the clinical development of its small-molecule product candidates in oncology, PX-478 and PX-866. n ? ? Copyright ? 2008 Thomson BioWorld, All Rights Reserved. |