Dyax, a US-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has announced that it is eliminating 60 positions from various departments within the company to focus its resources on the commercialization of its lead product candidate, DX-88.
The reduction in force will result in savings that will allow the company to prepare for the commercial launch of DX-88 in the US, pending FDA approval, said Dyax.
In addition, the company said that it expects to reduce expenses during these difficult economic times by reassessing priorities within its internal pipeline of product candidates.
Dyax maintained that it will remain appropriately staffed to advance the development of, and regulatory efforts behind, its DX-88 franchise and select pipeline compounds, as well as to support its licensing and funded research program.
Dyax expects the reduction in personnel costs, along with other external costs, will contribute approximately $18 million in annual savings. Furthermore, there will be one-time charges related to the workforce reduction of approximately $2 million during the first quarter of 2009.
Gustav Christensen, president and CEO of Dyax, said: Dyax is moving into a new phase of its evolution as a company, going from a research-stage organization to a fully integrated biotechnology company. It is important that we focus our resources during this transition to ensure our long-term success, particularly as the broader markets work through a period of almost unprecedented global economic dislocation.