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Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc. could run out of cash at the end of next month if the drug developer is unable to sign a partnership or other financial deal to remain as a going concern, according to a regulatory filing.
“As a result of our current cash position and in order to continue operating the company, Altus needs to raise additional capital before the end of September,” CEO Georges Gemayel said in a prepared written statement.
The company’s cash and cash equivalents as of June 30 totaled $8.1 million.
The Waltham-based biotechnology company reported a loss of $4.9 million for the second quarter of 2009, down from a loss of $25.3 million in the second quarter of 2008. Research and development costs were slashed to $4.9 million in the second quarter of 2009 compared with $21 million in the second quarter of 2008.
Research and development expenses for the second quarter of 2009 decreased primarily due to discontinuing activities related to Altus’ Trizytek program in the first quarter of 2009. The company decided last quarter to stop work on the drug target for Cystic Fibrosis to focus its limited resources on another drug target for patients with growth hormone deficiency. The Trizytek program reverted to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and eventually found a home with Cambridge-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals.
Altus also achieved savings due to the layoff of 70 percent of its staff in March, mostly of employees who had worked on the halted Trizytek program. The company recorded one-time restructuring charges of $5.1 million in the six months ended June 30, due mainly to the layoffs. On July 1, the company renegotiated the terms of its two facility leases as part of a move to consolidate its operations into one facility in the second quarter of 2009.
Altus’ (Nasdaq:ALTU) shares closed at 37 cents Tuesday. The company is in danger of being delisted by the Nasdaq. On July 31, the stock exchange reinstituted its requirement that listed companies have share prices above a dollar.
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