SAN DIEGO, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Halozyme
Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) today announced strategic actions
to reposition the Company with a focus solely on its
ENHANZE® drug delivery technology.
In order to implement this strategic shift, Halozyme will
immediately initiate an organizational restructuring to halt
development activities for PEGPH20 and close its oncology
operations. As a result, Halozyme expects the following:
- Headcount will be reduced by approximately 55%, or
approximately 160 positions, with over 80% of the reduction
completed in early January 2020.
- Restructuring and other cost saving efforts will result in
savings of $130 to $140 million in 2020 compared with the Company's
most recent guidance for 2019 operating expenses excluding cost of
goods sold.
- Upon completion of the restructuring and after booking all
related one-time charges, Halozyme anticipates becoming a
sustainably profitable company beginning in the second quarter of
2020.
- Projected annualized operating expenses excluding cost of goods
sold of between $65 million and
$75 million will be achieved by the
fourth quarter of 2020.
The Company expects to book separation and contract termination
fees in the fourth quarter of 2019 and will provide further details
during its third quarter 2019 financial results webcast and
conference call on Tuesday, November
12.
The go-forward organization will comprise approximately 120
employees focused on driving the continued growth of
ENHANZE®, specifically in areas that are critical to
supporting partners such as manufacturing, quality, regulatory and
product development. An additional 12 employees will continue
promoting the Company's commercial drug Hylenex®.
The Company's ENHANZE® business continues to grow
with three commercial products and 11 products currently in
clinical trials. Halozyme will provide a more detailed update for
its ENHANZE® business during its third quarter financial
results webcast and conference call.
Halozyme's Board of Directors has also authorized the initiation
of a capital return program to repurchase up to $350 million of the Company's outstanding common
stock over the next three years. The timing of share repurchases
and the number of shares of common stock that are repurchased will
depend on market conditions and other factors. Repurchases
may be commenced or suspended at any time or from time-to-time at
the Company's discretion without prior notice. Repurchases
may be made through both public market and private transactions.
The Board will regularly review this capital return policy in
connection with a balanced capital allocation strategy.
"Our mission now is to transition our strategy to focus on our
high-growth, high-margin ENHANZE® drug delivery
technology platform," said Dr. Helen
Torley, president and CEO of Halozyme. "Our
ENHANZE® business is well positioned for this growth,
supported by strong partnerships with leading brands and a
promising development pipeline. As a result, Halozyme now has a
clear path to near-term, sustainable profitability with strong cash
flows and high growth prospects. In addition, our share repurchase
program reflects our continued commitment to creating value for our
shareholders and to implementing a capital return philosophy
aligned with our new company profile."
Dr. Torley continued, "The results of the well-designed and
well-executed HALO-301 study were not what we wanted or expected. I
wish to extend my deep appreciation for all who supported this
study and made it possible, in particular the patients, their
families, our investigators and their staff, our investors and the
Halozyme team."
The actions taken by the Company follow the results of its
HALO-301 Phase 3 clinical study, which were disclosed in a separate
press release issued today.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Halozyme will
webcast a conference call today at 8:30 a.m.
ET / 5:30 a.m. PT to discuss
its plans to focus strategy on its ENHANZE® drug
delivery technology. Dr. Helen
Torley, president and chief executive officer, will lead the
call, which will be webcast live through the "Investors" section of
Halozyme's corporate website and a replay will be available
following the close of the call. To access the webcast, please
visit www.halozyme.com approximately fifteen minutes prior to the
call to register, download and install any necessary audio
software. The call may also be accessed by dialing (877) 824-0907
(domestic callers) or (647) 689-5655 (international callers) using
passcode 3069304. A telephone replay will be available after the
call by dialing (800) 585-8367 (domestic callers) or (416) 621-4642
(international callers) using replay ID number
3069304.
About Halozyme
Halozyme Therapeutics is a
biotechnology that has established value-driving partnerships with
leading pharmaceutical companies including Roche, Baxalta, Pfizer,
Janssen, AbbVie, Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Alexion and argenx
for its ENHANZE® drug delivery technology. Halozyme is
headquartered in San Diego. For
more information visit www.halozyme.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
In addition to historical
information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking
statements including, without limitation, statements concerning the
Company's future financial performance including expectations for
profitability and reduced expenses, plans to implement an
organizational restructuring including anticipated reductions in
employee headcount, plans to focus its operations solely on its
ENHANZE® drug delivery technology, and the size and
timing of share repurchases under the Company's share repurchase
program. Forward-looking statements regarding the Company's
ENHANZE® drug delivery technology may include potential
growth of the ENHANZE® business, the possible activity,
benefits and attributes of ENHANZE®, the possible method
of action of ENHANZE®, its potential application to aid
in the dispersion and absorption of other injected therapeutic
drugs, the number of collaborative targets actually chosen, whether
such products are ultimately developed or commercialized, whether
milestones triggering milestone payments will be achieved, and
statements concerning facilitating more rapid delivery of
injectable medications through subcutaneous delivery that involve
risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements are typically, but not always,
identified through use of the words "believe," "enable," "may,"
"will," "could," "intends," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan,"
"predict," "probable," "potential," "possible," "should,"
"continue," and other words of similar meaning. Actual results
could differ materially from the expectations contained in
forward-looking statements as a result of several factors,
including unexpected delays or results of the Company's
organizational restructuring, unexpected expenditures and costs,
unexpected delays in the execution of the planned share repurchase,
unexpected results or delays in the growth of the Company's
ENHANZE® business, unexpected results or delays in the
development and regulatory review of ENHANZE® products,
regulatory approval requirements, changes in strategic priorities
and product development and commercialization plans by
ENHANZE® collaborators, unexpected adverse events and
competitive conditions. These and other factors that may result in
differences are discussed in greater detail in the Company's most
recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Al Kildani
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
858-704-8122
ir@halozyme.com
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SOURCE Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.