Alkermes, an Irish drugmaker with operations in the U.S.,is cutting 160 jobs to lower expenses after losing $54 million last quarter, according to Boston Business Journal.
In total, the company has lost $165.5 million in 2019.
Alkermes CEO Richard Pops said during an earnings call that the layoffs will affect research and development staff, but offered no specifics about where the cuts would take place, according to Boston Business Journal.
Mr. Pops told the Boston Business Journal the layoffs are part of an effort to "re-baseline" the company's expense profile and to help it pursue business development opportunities and prepare for the potential commercialization of its forthcoming depression drug.
Earlier this year, the FDA rejected Alkermes' opioid-based antidepressant, which analysts predicted could have generated more than $1 billion in annual sales.
The company's current business plans revolve around ALKS 3831, a drug designed to treat schizophrenia that was expected to be submitted to the FDA for approval in mid-2019 but was delayed while the company expands the application to include bipolar disorder.
Alkermes could also earn $27 million from Biogen in a deal for the multiple sclerosis drug, Vumerity, which the FDA is expected to approve or reject by the end of the year.
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