LXRX, Lexicon reduces workforce to save $10M annually. This PR note doesn't really give details on exactly how many are affected, or on what lines of business will be truncated. As I read the note and place people with product lines, it looks like a shutdown of the knockout mice, but would they really want to do that? Maybe a curtailment of the library program?
I estimate about 100 people for the layoffs. It looks spread over all layers of the org. Three VPs is a fair hit.
So this gives them a chance to make their 10 new INDs by 2010 with decreased borrowing [or maybe no additional borrowing].
This wil be terribly disruptive to the long term employees who dedicated substantial amounts of their professional efforts over years to a given product line. Hopefully they get even better jobs soon where they can apply themselves.
graham
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First item on the homepage today...
lexpharma.com
The Woodlands, Texas, May 28, 2008 – Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX) announced today that it is implementing a reorganization designed to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in its research and discovery operations. This action will further focus the company’s resources on its strategic, business, and clinical development initiatives. The cost reductions associated with the reorganization will enable the company to continue to invest appropriately in the development of its expanding pipeline of drug candidates, while maintaining a productive and robust drug discovery operation.
“This reorganization is a significant milestone in the process we began in early 2007 to transform ourselves into a biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of innovative drug products that derive from our unique insights into the human genome,” said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer. “This action will reduce operating expenses associated with our research and discovery efforts and allow us to deploy these resources into key clinical development areas, including our four programs currently in human clinical trials.”
As part of the reorganization, Lexicon is reducing its workforce at the company’s facilities in Texas and New Jersey. Lexicon expects the move to reduce its expenses by approximately $4.0 million, net of severance costs, for the balance of 2008 and approximately $10.0 million on an annualized basis. Lexicon will conclude the reorganization by early summer with a prioritization initiative of drug targets designed to further streamline its process of moving new drug candidates from discovery to human clinical testing.
“We are thankful for the significant contributions our employees have made, and we recognize the personal and professional impact this transition will have on all those affected,” Sands said. “Among those departing the company, there are some long-standing employees, including several executives who have contributed greatly to the company’s rapid growth from its early start-up phase. We are especially indebted to Julia Gregory, who served as our chief financial officer from the time of our successful initial public offering in 2000. In addition, we want to thank Jim Piggott, who served as senior vice president of pharmaceutical biology in charge of target discovery from the beginning of the Genome5000™ program, and David Boulton, vice president of technology and operations in New Jersey, who designed and implemented our innovative click chemistry platform, which is the foundation of Lexicon’s chemical library collection, for their efforts.” |
