EXTON, Pa. (AP) — Adolor Corp. is eliminating 30 jobs, or more than a quarter of its work force, as sales of its drug Entereg did not meet its expectations.
Adolor had 114 employees at the end of 2009. The company said it expects to reduce its spending significantly from the job cuts and from other cost-saving plans, but did not say how much it will save. Adolor expects to take a $2 million charge in the third quarter related to employee severance and other expenses.
The company said the moves will leave it with enough money to continue operating through 2012. In that time, it plans to focus on improving sales of Entereg, its only approved drug, and to conduct more studies of drugs that could treat opioid bowel dysfunction, or constipation and discomfort following treatment with opioid drugs.
Entereg is a treatment for constipation following abdominal surgery. Adolor said second-quarter sales more than doubled to $6.3 million from $2.4 million in the same period a year ago. In the first six months of 2010, sales more than tripled to about $11.6 million from $3.8 million. The company said that total was slightly lower than expected, however.
Adolor does not plan to give guidance on Entereg sales for the rest of the year.
In June, the company said two of its drug candidates failed in a clinical trial. The drugs were intended to treat pain caused by osteoarthritis of the knee. Adolor said the drugs did not work better than a placebo because patients who were treated with the placebo experienced a surprisingly large improvement. The products were described Adolor’s most advanced drug candidates.
Adolor also cut 45 jobs in 2009, and said it would put more emphasis on drugs that were further along in development and less on early stage drug candidates.
