Active Biotech focuses operations on development projects

27-Feb-2004

Active Biotech presents the plans for its new strategic focus. The objective is to focus on the company's projects in clinical phase. The key capabilities required to support clinical and late pre-clinical development projects will be reinforced. A number of mature discovery projects will be retained in the portfolio, with a possibility to be pursued at a later stage. All discovery activities will be discontinued.

Since the start-up in connection with Pharmacia's spin-out of Lund Research Center in 1998, Active Biotech has been operated as an integrated research and development organisation with projects in both discovery and development. In recent years, the company has advanced four development projects (SAIK-MS, TASQ, TTS and 57-57) into clinical studies in humans or late pre-clinical stage. All of these projects have generated positive results during 2003.

As previously announced, the Board decided in February 2004 to review the operations, in order to focus the project portfolio on the most advanced projects. The objective of this change in business strategy is to ensure the quality of projects by allocating a larger proportion of the company's resources to activities in clinical or late pre-clinical phase. The new business strategy secures the long-term value of these projects.

As a consequence of this new business strategy, the company will carry through a significant reduction of staff. A notification of planned redundancies will be submitted to the local authorities ("Länsarbetsnämnden") for 98 employees out of 176. Negotiations with the trade unions have been initiated and contacts have also been established with organisations such as the Swedish Employment Security Council regarding various support measures for the employees concerned. The company will also implement other internal measures to facilitate this difficult process.

As a result of Active Biotech's new strategic focus, operating cost will be substantially reduced. The operating costs are expected to decrease by approx. SEK 100 Million per year compared to 2003, with full impact 2005.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/35791/active-biotech-focuses-operations-on-development-projects.html