Coley to outsource future drug discovery
vaccine and shedding over a fifth of its workforce, Coley
Pharmaceutical has announced it will look to outsource future drug
discovery.
The decision comes after disappointing results from two clinical trials of Actilon (CPG 10101), its DNA-based drug candidate designed to activate the immune system and fight the potentially fatal liver disease, hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Of the major drugs in its pipeline, Actilon was the only one being developed without a partner and halting its development has led to a major internal review of Coley's business model.
As a result, the Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company has decided to sack 22 per cent (33) of its workforce (predominantly drug development staff) and will look to outsource any future drug development that it cannot manage with its remaining in-house resources.
Although this decision will cost Coley an estimated £1.1m (€1.7m) in severance costs, the company will save approximately $15m (€11.5m) in development costs. This money will be enough to finance Coley for around three years.
"Previously, we have developed our toll-like receptor (TLR) therapeutics with internal drug and clinical development staff and relied on external contract research organisations (CROs) to absorb peak workloads," explained Charles Abdalian, chief financial officer at Coley.
However, now the firm will operate in reverse, outsourcing the development of its TLR therapeutics and using its internal staff to manage the CROs.
