Caliper Technologies Reconfigures Organization for Sustainable Growth
Thursday December 4, 7:30 pm ET
Reorganization of Senior Management Team and Reduction of Workforce Set Stage for Realization of Cost Synergies and Execution of Commercially Focused Business Strategy
New Caliper Poised to Impact Life Sciences Research and the Drug Discovery Process
HOPKINTON, Mass., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caliper Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: CALP - News) today announced the reorganization of its senior management team, along with the second phase of a planned workforce reduction. This step, which is the culmination of the new Caliper's efforts to reconfigure its organization, positions the company to aggressively pursue a commercialization strategy that has been carefully outlined since the company's combination with Zymark Corporation in July 2003. When fully implemented, the reconfiguration is expected to result in a net reduction of approximately 65 people, or approximately 12% of the total workforce. This net reduction includes the elimination of seven positions at the vice president level, as well as some new hires to accommodate the move of certain functions to the company's Hopkinton headquarters, and to add skill sets which will support the company's strategic direction. Employees affected by this resource alignment will be eligible for severance and benefit packages.
The primary objectives of these changes are to:
-- Eliminate redundancy in senior management and other duplications,
caused by the recent combination of Caliper and Zymark Corporation;
-- Continue to build a management team with global commercialization
experience;
-- Rationalize the company's R&D investment by making sequential rather
than parallel R&D investments to more effectively leverage Caliper's
resources.
"Today's announcement is the culmination of the new Caliper's reorganization plan as outlined in August of this year," stated Kevin Hrusovsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Caliper. "We believe this reconfiguration of the Caliper team, and assessment of existing and needed assets, will result in the realization of cost synergies in excess of our previously stated goal of $10 million. Most importantly, these measures allow the company to move closer to achieving the corporate objective of reaching operating cash-flow breakeven by the end of 2005. Our business strategy is in motion and we have created a more streamlined and focused organizational structure that will help us achieve our aggressive corporate goals while meeting the needs of our customers."
As previously stated, the reconfiguration announced today focuses on rationalizing R&D resources by using a sequential rather than parallel investment methodology. Using this strategy, Caliper expects to control R&D expenditure while ensuring the highest potential long-term growth prospects are pursued. In addition, a number of senior management changes were made to streamline the organizational structure and build a new executive team with the skill set to efficiently execute the company's new commercially focused business strategy.
Specific appointments to the executive management team include Anne Kopf-Sill, Ph.D., the company's current Vice President, Microfluidics R&D, who will be moving into a new role as Vice President, Molecular Diagnostics. The creation of a VP of Molecular Diagnostics demonstrates Caliper's commitment to utilize its years of know-how in the area of microfludics and Dr. Kopf-Sill's years with the company and experience in leading various scientific initiatives, to explore Caliper's potential to develop applications in molecular diagnostics. Andrea Chow, Ph.D., has also been promoted to the role of Vice President, Microfluidics R&D, to succeed Dr. Kopf-Sill in this role. Both Dr. Chow and Dr. Kopf-Sill are highly regarded in the scientific community for their contributions to the field of microfluidics, and have been with Caliper since 1998 and 1997, respectively. Dr. Chow and Dr. Kopf-Sill will report directly to the CEO.
In addition to the above shift in responsibilities, Caliper has attracted two industry veterans to join the senior management team: Yvonne Linney, Ph.D., as Senior Director, Microfluidics Marketing and Product Management, and Seth Cohen, Ph.D., as Director of Application Scientists. Dr. Linney joins the company after 10 years with Amersham, most recently 5 years as the Director of Marketing for Genomics. Dr. Cohen is the former Program Director of Lead Discovery of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Linney and Dr. Cohen will report to Mark Roskey, Ph.D., Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.
Departures from the executive management team include Michael Knapp, Ph.D., Chief Technical Officer and Founder, and James Knighton, Chief Financial Officer. As previously announced, Caliper is actively recruiting a Massachusetts-based Chief Financial Officer and expects to be able to announce this appointment in the fourth quarter of 2003. Other departures resulting from the elimination of vice president positions include the vice president of human resources, vice president of product development and vice president of partnership operations. While most of the announced departures will occur immediately, Dr. Knapp will stay with the company through the end of the calendar year and Mr. Knighton plans to remain with the company into the first quarter of 2004 to assist with the transition to the new CFO. Responsibilities of the departing employees have been consolidated within the roles of other managers currently within the organization.
"I would like to thank the departing employees for their significant contributions to Caliper," stated Kevin Hrusovsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Caliper. "Specifically, I would like to recognize Mike Knapp and Jim Knighton for their vision and guidance over the years, which will continue to play an integral role in the company's future success."
Mr. Hrusovsky added, "The additions to the team and recent internal promotions indicate Caliper's commitment to building an organization that will drive innovative product development and help Caliper realize the promise of revolutionizing life science research and drug discovery as the industry enters a new era. Our years of experience, know-how and understanding of microfluidics continue to give the new Caliper a unique competitive advantage to meet the industry's existing needs in drug discovery and to explore exciting future applications in molecular diagnostics. As evidenced by our customers' testimonials at the recent ISLAR conference, Caliper's technology continues to help companies make earlier lead optimization decisions, eliminate bottlenecks, increase productivity and improve analytical results throughout the discovery process. The new Caliper is poised to impact the drug discovery process for the life sciences industry."
About Caliper Technologies
Caliper Technologies is a leading provider of microfluidic technology and laboratory automation solutions serving a broad range of markets in the worldwide life science, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. With the recent acquisition of Zymark Corporation, Caliper now offers a state-of-the- art comprehensive portfolio of microfluidic, liquid handling and laboratory automation products designed to accelerate drug discovery and development. Caliper is focused on leveraging its global commercial infrastructure, broad and established customer base, and innovative R&D platform to drive its current and future growth.
Caliper headquarters are located in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, with R&D, operations and manufacturing facilities for LabChip® devices in Mountain View, California, and direct sales, service and applications support in numerous locations around the world. Caliper customers and partners include many of the largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the world. For more information, please visit Caliper's web site at calipertech.com . |
