Pharmacopeia to cut 15% of jobs to help save $10M in 2009, focusing on pipeline

Pharmacopeia plans to reduce its work force 15% to focus resources on its clinical-stage drug candidates. The US biopharmaceutical firm said it will lose 22 staff and, together with "improved operational efficiencies and increased financial discipline," it hopes this will reduce operating costs by at least $10.0 million in 2009.

"We believe that, with the recent announcement of our positive Phase IIa results for PS433540 (DARA), it is the appropriate time to continue executing our plan to allocate a greater share of our resources towards our later-stage programs," said Joseph Mollica, interim chief executive of Pharmacopeia. The firm's lead product candidate is a dual-acting angiotensin and endothelin receptor antagonist that is being developed as a potential treatment for hypertension and diabetic nephropathy.

Dr Mollica added that, "in order to maximize shareholder value, it is essential that we focus our efforts on the programs that can provide the greatest return. In addition to PS433540, these programs include: PS178990, our selective androgen receptor modulator which we believe will progress into Phase II testing in the first half of 2009; PS031291, our oral CCR1 development candidate for which we intend to initiate clinical development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in early 2009; and our JAK3 program for the topical treatment of psoriasis which we expect to enter preclinical development in 2009. Discovery research remains a core strength of Pharmacopeia and will be increasingly focused on the discovery and advancement of clinical candidates that we can independently develop into valuable assets that directly benefit our shareholders."