XenoPort Inc. (XNPT) announced plans to cut half of its work force, in order to “focus the Company's resources on advancement of its later-stage product candidates,” the company said in a release.
The cuts will reduce the biopharmaceutical company’s annual cash expenses by $15.6 million, due to the reduced compensation and benefit costs.
In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it wouldn’t approve the biopharmaceutical company’s restless leg syndrome drug Horizant, leading the company to trim its workforce.
"The unexpected setback in the approval of Horizant has forced us to conduct a thorough review of our operating plans. We have made the difficult decision to restructure the Company to prioritize later-stage development activity and eliminate our discovery research efforts," said Ronald W. Barrett, Ph.D., XenoPort's chief executive officer, in a statement.
The company said it expects to incur $4.2 million in restructuring costs in the first half of 2010.
Shares of XenoPort fell 45 cents or 5.72% in Friday’s session, closing at $7.42 a share. The stock was down another 4 cents in after-hours trading.
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