Allozyme Cuts Workforce After Scrapping Merger Plan With Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Poniard CEO, 4 Board Members Resign, Company Booted Off Nasdaq

Seattle-based Allozyne has made a small set of job cuts after it was unable to pull the trigger on its plan to go public late last year, Xconomy has learned. Allozyne has let go some of its scientific staff, according to a source close to the situation. When asked how many jobs were eliminated, and how many employees remain at Allozyne, CEO Meenu Chhabra said there was no downsizing but that “we redistributed functional areas.” That decision came days after Allozyne scrapped a plan to go public through a merger with San Francisco-based Poniard Pharmaceuticals. If the deal had gone through, privately held Allozyne would have gotten a NASDAQ listing that would have enabled it to raise more money from mutual funds, institutions, and hedge funds that only invest in public companies.

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