Monday, June 22, 2009

Targeted Genetics cuts deep

Troubled Seattle biotechnology firm Targeted Genetics said it is cutting its staff by more than two-thirds to help keep the company running into August.

The company said in a press release it will reduce its head count to 10 to 15 employees by the end of July. The company currently has 46 employees, Targeted Genetics spokeswoman Stacie Byars told The Puget Sound Business Journal.

The biotech firm said it has also “continued to pursue a settlement of its Bothell lease obligations and has also entered into discussions to reduce or eliminate its other facility costs.”

Targeted Genetics has been running low on cash for month. At the end of March, it reported just $3.9 million in cash on the books. It noted in the press release:

The Company continues to pursue additional capital through strategic transactions, licensing or selling technology, product development collaborations, and sales of stock. If the Company is not successful in raising additional funding sufficient to support ongoing operations, it will wind down its business or otherwise cease its operations.

Targeted Genetics also said today that its primary collaborator -- the University College London/Moorfields Eye Hospital -- has continued clinical trials for Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (an inherited disease that often results in blindness).


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