Biotie Announces Restructuring Plan

Future Focus Exclusively on Clinical Development

01-Nov-2010 - Finland

Biotie announced that it will implement a restructuring plan to focus its business exclusively on clinical development and will transfer all operations to its headquarters in Finland. The restructuring would result in significant personnel and cost reductions. These initiatives are designed to leverage the company's development expertise and focus resources on the clinical assets that the company believes will best enhance shareholder value.

As part of the restructuring process, Biotie will spin-off its site in Radebeul, Germany in an MBO transaction and will take a minority interest in the spin-off company, biocrea GmbH. Thomas Kronbach, Biotie's Chief Scientific Officer, will leave Biotie to become Managing Director of the new entity, into which all employees and all pre-clinical assets of Biotie Therapies GmbH (Biotie's subsidiary in Radebeul, Germany) will be transferred.

Biotie will provide initial funding in the amount of up to EUR 4.8 million over the next 12 months to start off the new business, but it is anticipated that biocrea will attract and mainly rely on independent funding sources in the future. While Biotie will retain its German subsidiary Biotie Therapies GmbH, there will be no business operations or employees in its German site going forward.

Workforce reduction measures would also impact Biotie's activities in its headquarters in Turku, Finland. The company would maintain all competencies necessary to support clinical development and business operations in order to progress its current clinical pipeline and continue licensing and business development activities. Biotie will start a company-wide regulated co-determination process with employees in Finland regarding a potential reduction of headcount by up to 15 employees. Following the spin-off in Germany and execution of planned restructuring measures in Finland, Biotie expects its total number of employees going forward would be approximately 22, all based at its headquarters in Turku, Finland.

Biotie's collaboration with Lundbeck for the development and commercialization of nalmefene for alcohol dependence is unaffected by the restructuring. Furthermore, the company will focus its development activities around ronomilast, its oral, once daily PDE4 inhibitor and BTT-1023, its fully human monoclonal antibody targeting VAP-1. Both products have successfully completed multiple phase I trials and preparatory activities towards phase II trials are underway for these two programs.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/125342/biotie-announces-restructuring-plan.html