Print
Email
Print Edition Stories
MHT's Galen Moore: Hiring trends and opportunities
Drug developer Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is winding down its business and has engaged creditors and vendors to “maximize the value of its assets,” the company said in a regulatory filing late Monday.
In doing so, Altus has suspended its phase 2 clinical trial for a growth-hormone therapy and is eliminating “substantially all of its remaining employees” over the next six weeks.
Effected employees have been notified and will receive lump-sum severance payments.
The Cambridge-based company said the decision to shutter the business was finalized Sept. 11.
Altus (Nasdaq: ALTU) said $2.7 million in restructuring charges will be recognized in the third and fourth quarters.
In August, the struggling drug maker secured an option to pay $1.5 million for all of its preferred stock owned by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The option, if exercised, would retire Vertex’s claims to some $2.3 million in accrued dividend payments, as well as $4.5 million in potential payments owed by Altus.
It is unclear whether Altus’ decision to “wind down” will trigger any payments in the Vertex agreement. As it stands, the deal says a move to liquidate would give Vertex a substantial claim to Altus’ cash prior to any payments to common stockholders.
In a recent regulatory filing, Altus said it would likely run out of cash by October. As of June 30 the company had $8.1 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand.
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
RSS Feeds
