December 21, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
PRINCETON, N.J. — Struggling Derma Sciences is changing leadership following the failure of its only clinical candidate in November.
Edward Quilty resigned from his position as chief executive officer and the company tapped Stephen Wills, the lead director and a member of the Derma Sciences Board of Directors since 2000, as interim CEO. Quilty’s departure comes on the heels of the Phase III failure of aclerastide, which was being studied for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. The change in leadership is effective immediately, the company announced this morning. Wills currently serves as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Palatin Technologies, Inc. .
In November, a third-party assessment by Data Monitoring Committee of aclerastide found the drug did not meet its end goals of healing diabetic foot ulcers, the company said in a statement. Derma Sciences said it was halting the clinical trial and is terminating the aclerastide program. There were no safety concerns related to the treatment, the company said. In addition to halting the trial of aclerastide for foot ulcer treatment, Derma Science said it would also stop developing aclerastide as a treatment to reduce scars and treat radiation dermatitis.
Following the failure of aclerastide, the company was looking at several options to go forward, including a possible sale. The termination of the drug trial will cost the company approximately $2 million and overall save about $5 million per quarter, the company said at the time.
If untreated, diabetic foot ulcers can be a factor in amputations in diabetic patients. Some patients who experience foot ulcers may not know they are there because of nerve or blood vessel damage.
Treatments for diabetic foot ulcers can include hemorheologic agents and antiplatelet agents. Smith & Nephew Inc. ’s Regranex, a topical gel, for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, has been on the market since 1997
Aclerastide was the company’s only clinical program, although it does have some wound-care products on the market, including Medihoney, Xtrasorb and Bioguard.
Derma stock is down this morning, trading at $4.42 per share. Since an October high of $6.42 per share, Derma stock has seen a steady decline, with a big 30 percent drop in November after the company announced the failure of aclerastide
Quilty’s resignation was a “mutual decision” between he and the board of directors, the company said. He is expected to remain a member of Derma Science’s board of directors ad will also serve as a consultant. A special committee of the Board will immediately begin the search for a permanent CEO with the assistance of Korn Ferry, a leading executive search firm, the company said.
“Our priority now is to identify a leader with the vision to build upon the Company’s strategy for sustainable growth and profitability, and take us forward into Derma Sciences’ next phase of development and growth,” Willis said in a statement
Derma Sciences’ three divisions, advanced wound care, pharmaceutical wound care and traditional wound care, generated a combined $22 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2015.
