Apellis announces restructuring, cost-cutting initiatives to support Syfovre, Empaveli
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Key takeaways:
- Apellis announced that it will initiate corporate restructuring and cost-cutting initiatives that include cutting 25% of its workforce.
- The initiatives are expected to save the company up to $300 million and to drive growth of Syfovre and Empaveli.
Apellis announced a corporate reconstructing to drive growth of Syfovre and Empaveli, which will include cost-cutting initiatives expected to save the company up to $300 million through 2024, according to a press release.
“We are taking important actions to strengthen our ability to invest in growth opportunities and support the company's long-term success, including maximizing the significant opportunity with Syfovre,” Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Apellis, said in the release. “As a more focused organization, we believe these initiatives put Apellis in a stronger position to create value for shareholders and continue delivering on our mission for patients now and in the future.”
The company announced that the restructuring will help it prioritize the launch of Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection) outside of the U.S., including in the EU and an initial launch in Germany, as well as reduce expenses surrounding Empaveli (pegcetacoplan) “through a more focused commercial and medical PNH [Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria] organization.”
The initiatives are expected to save the company more than $70 million in net cost savings related to workforce reduction and up to $230 million related to the elimination of planned external expenses. The current work force of the company will be reduced by around 25%, which will include approximately 225 employees by the third quarter of 2023.
Apellis also plans to deprioritize certain projects, including those surrounding APL-2006 (pegcetacoplan), to focus on “high-potential opportunities” in retina and central nervous system diseases and does not plan to initiate any new clinical development programs with systemic pegcetacoplan.
The company expects to incur around $9 million to $11 million in one-time costs related to the workforce reduction, “substantially all of which are cash expenditures,” according to the release.