NicOx to halve HQ workforce
pharmafile | November 4, 2010 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | NicOx, job cuts, naproxcinod, pharma jobs
French pharmaceutical company NicOx is to halve the workforce at its Sophia Antipolis headquarters and is considering restructuring its Italian research centre near Milan.
The company has set aside 4.7 million euros to pay for its restructuring plan, which follow the FDA’s rejection of its anti-inflammatory drug naproxcinod in July.
Michele Garufi, chief executive of NicOx, said: “Following receipt of the FDA’s complete response letter for naproxcinod in July, we are implementing a number of measures to contain our costs and carefully target our activities.
“We very much regret that the necessary change of focus will affect a number of our employees and I would like to personally thank all of them for their hard work and the significant milestones they have contributed to over the past few years.”
A complete response letter from the FDA said NicOx needed to generate more safety and efficacy data for naproxcinod through larger, more comprehensive clinical trials before it would assess it again.
In response the company closed its US headquarters at the end of August and, announcing its latest financial figures, confirmed it would refocus its “key strategic priorities”, part of which will lead to an unspecified number of further job cuts.
The company added that it would be “seeking appropriate M&A opportunities and new alliances on existing programmes” while continuing to complete the European registration process for naproxcinod.
NicOx’s financial performance
In the first nine months of this year NicOx’s revenue was 7.4 million euros, up from 1.1 million euros last year, with the increase coming from the company’s partnerships with Merck and Bausch + Lomb.
The company was still running at an operating loss of 37.8 million euros in the first nine months of the year, down slightly from 39.9 million euros for the same period in 2009.
Chief financial officer Eric Castaldi said: “NicOx had cash and cash equivalents equaling 116 million euros as of the end of September 2010. Our ongoing efforts to maintain our cash position are expected to result in a significant reduction in the company’s cash burn in 2011, which is expected to be around one third of the anticipated 2010 figure.”
Ben Adams
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