Targanta Announces Corporate Restructuring
December 18 2008 - 4:05PM
Business Wire
Targanta Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: TARG) today announced a
strategic restructuring including a staff reduction of 86
employees, approximately 75% of the company's total workforce.
Following the restructuring, the company expects to have 27
employees. The Company expects the majority of the plan to be
implemented by the end of December 2008. The restructuring and
corresponding reduction in workforce is meant to preserve capital,
while maintaining key personnel needed to support the regulatory
approval process for oritavancin in the European Union, while
simultaneously clarifying the regulatory pathway for oritavancin
with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and developing the
protocol for an additional Phase 3 study of oritavancin for the
treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections
(cSSSI). Mark Leuchtenberger, President and CEO of Targanta,
commented, "Targanta has transitioned from a company preparing for
the commercial launch of its lead drug candidate to a late-stage
clinical development company since receiving the FDA�s Complete
Response Letter to our New Drug Application (NDA) for oritavancin.
Targanta�s management team and its Board of Directors are in
alignment that our best path forward to achieving our corporate
goals and preserving shareholder value is to restructure the
Company and focus our resources and capital in a way that
efficiently advances oritavancin for the treatment of cSSSI. This
restructuring in no way reflects the tireless efforts and
tremendous contributions of the Targanta team who have worked so
hard to advance this much needed antibiotic therapy.� As part of
the restructuring and to further reduce costs, Chief Development
Officer, Pierre E. G. Etienne, M.D.; Chief Commercial Officer, Mona
Haynes; and, Vice President of Operations and Head of Targanta�s
Indianapolis, Indiana site, Roger D. Miller, will be leaving the
company. Employees affected by the reduction have been offered
severance benefits. The company expects to incur restructuring
charges of approximately $5.8 million. About Oritavancin
Oritavancin is a novel, semi-synthetic lipoglycopeptide antibiotic
candidate with potent bactericidal (killing) activity against a
broad spectrum of gram-positive bacteria. The oritavancin NDA
submission included data from 19 clinical trials, including two
pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy
of oritavancin in the treatment of cSSSI, both of which met their
primary endpoints. The NDA dossier also included data from more
than 2,100 individuals and in vitro activity data on oritavancin
against more than 9,000 clinical bacterial isolates, including a
broad range of gram-positive strains resistant to commonly used
antibiotics such as oxacillin, methicillin, vancomycin, daptomycin,
and linezolid. About Targanta Therapeutics Targanta Therapeutics
Corporation (Nasdaq: TARG) is a biopharmaceutical company focused
on developing and commercializing innovative antibiotics to treat
serious infections in the hospital and other institutional
settings. The Company�s pipeline includes an intravenous version of
oritavancin, a semi-synthetic lipoglycopeptide antibiotic currently
awaiting EU regulatory approval, and a program to develop an oral
version of oritavancin for the possible treatment of Clostridium
difficile-related infection. The Company has operations in
Cambridge, MA, Indianapolis, IN, and Montreal, Qu�bec, Canada. For
more information on Targanta, visit www.targanta.com. Safe Harbor
Statement This press release contains �forward-looking statements�
that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These are statements that
are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future
events or conditions or that include words such as �potential,�
�may,� "will," "expects," "projects," "anticipates," "estimates,"
"believes," "intends," "plans," "should," "seeks," �hope� and
similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future
results to differ materially from those projected or contemplated
in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may
be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties
described in Targanta�s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The risks and uncertainties referred to above include,
but are not limited to, delays in obtaining or a failure to obtain
regulatory approval for Targanta�s product candidates; unfavorable
clinical trial results; Targanta�s potential inability to initiate
and complete pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for its
product candidates; the possibility that results of pre-clinical
studies are not necessarily predictive of clinical trial results;
and those other risk factors that are described more fully in the
Company�s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Targanta does not undertake any obligation to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or
events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.
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