Amgen's Partner Unilife Slashes 140 Jobs and Will Sublet Portion of Pennsylvania Office Space
October 24, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
YORK, Pa. – Struggling Unilife Corporation has implemented comprehensive cost reduction measures as it continues to shift its business focus on active and new customer programs in its portfolio of wearable injector systems.
The streamlining of the company has left it with about 140 employees following several rounds of layoffs. That included the most recent cuts in July that saw the company terminate about 40 percent of its remaining employees. In addition to job cuts, Unilife said it has also sublet a “significant portion” of its office space in King of Prussia, Penn.
John Ryan, Unilife’s new chief executive officer, said the cuts and streamlining of the business means the company now has a “focused and engaged team executing on wearable injector customer programs, with continuing innovation in our industry-leading wearable injector technology.”
Unilife has several wearable technology programs with multiple companies, including Amgen , Sanofi and a deal with MedImmune , the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca . In October 2014, Unilife struck a deal with Sanofi to be the sole provider of cartridge-based wearable injectors for all of Sanofi's applicable large dose volume drugs, to make Unilife's wearable injectors available to Sanofi's partners for use with applicable molecules under joint collaborations.
The collaborative deal with Amgen, which Unilife struck earlier this year, seems to have additional benefits beyond the manufacturing of devices to deliver Amgen’s large and small volume products. This morning Unilife announced that Amgen has purchased a $10 million senior secured convertible note. This transaction is an acceleration of a portion of the $15 million senior secured convertible note that was originally contemplated to be purchased in January 2017 under the terms of the strategic collaboration announced in February 2016.
The focus on the development of wearable technology is expected to improve operating efficiencies, the company said. Additionally, Unilife said a wearable tech focus will allow the company “to take advantage of commercial opportunities within the fast-growing market for wearable injectors, where it has industry-leading proprietary technology and technical expertise.”
Not only has the company shifted its business focus and undertaken cost reduction measures, but the company has finally completed an internal investigation into the tenure of former CEO Alan Shortall. The former head left the company in March under a cloud of violations of company policies and procedures as well as possible legal and regulatory violations. Unilife said its internal investigation has not identified any additional financial loss other than what the company had previously identified. The investigation caused a delay in the company filing regulatory paperwork, however, the company has now filed the appropriate paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Unilife said this morning.
“We are pleased to have the internal investigation and related delay in our securities filings behind us so that we can now fully focus on executing on our wearable injector-focused strategy. We are building an organization on a foundation of integrity, accountability, and operational discipline. We have implemented rigorous operating practices to reduce cash burn, and we have the right pieces in place to build value for shareholders, customers and partners,” Ryan said in a statement.