Maxygen laying off 30% of staff, ‘exploring strategic options’
In a move to preserve cash, Maxygen said Wednesday it plans to cut its staff by 30 percent in the first quarter next year, a move that will leave it with some 65 employees when it is completed. The Redwood City biotechnology company said it will stage staggered terminations during the quarter beginning in January in both its operational and general-and-administrative departments. The company said it would provide “outplacement support and a severance package for each affected employee.”
Maxygen has also “retained the investment bank Lazard to assist in exploring strategic options, including a sale or disposition of one or more corporate assets, a strategic business combination, or other transactions.”
The company says it is scaling back its spending on its MAXY-G34 drug candidate, intended to treat chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, one of the most common side effects caused by chemotherapy that can quickly develop into a life-threatening situation. Maxygen said it will postpone Phase III manufacturing for the drug “until it identifies a partner who can share manufacturing costs.”
