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Print Edition StoriesThursday, November 20, 2008
CombinatoRx adds to job cuts; 55 remain
By Mass High Tech Staff
How is the economic crisis affecting tech companies?
Weeks after cutting its staff levels nearly in half, CombinatoRx Inc. is increasing the number of cuts by an additional 30 positions. Combined with the 45 percent reduction announced on Nov. 5, the Cambridge-based company will now have reduced its staff size by 65 percent.
CombinatoRx (Nasdaq: CRXX) said it was undertaking the cuts immediately, so it can focus on identifying novel product candidates. The staff reductions should let the company run without a need for any more equity financing for at least four more years, officials said.
Following the cuts, CombinatoRx will have approximately 55 employees, mostly in research activities and partnering product assets. The company is also planning to consolidate its Cambridge facility, according to officials. CombinatoRx started its job cuts about one month after disappointing trial results for Synavive, a drug intended to treat knee osteoarthritis,
In its Phase 2b clinical trial of Synavive, CombinatoRx found a placebo and Synavive turned up statistically insignificant results in a knee pain measurement test for patients walking on a flat surface. As a result of the clinical trials results, CombinatoRx stock dropped 73 percent at about 11 a.m. on Oct. 4, the day it announced the failed test, from $3 per share to 80 cents per share.
Last October, CombinatoRx reported it had signed definitive agreements with unnamed institutional investors to sell up to 5.6 million shares of its common stock, raising a combined $35 million in a registered direct offering.
CombinatoRx reported a net loss of $53.3 million on total revenue of $15 million in 2007.
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