A biotechnology company with a large Birmingham presence has cut dozens of jobs.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BCRX) has scaled back its research and development organization amid a potential effort to find a partner for one of its clinical programs.
The company has cut 59 jobs tied to R&D, about 10% of its total workforce. A BioCryst spokesperson did not confirm how many Birmingham employees were impacted, though the company did share it would be postponing some previously planned capital expenditures at its site in Alabama.
The news comes after the Hoover City Council approved a resolution in November that would provide the abatements to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals that would allow the company to expand its Hoover research and development facility by 42%. The total estimated value of all abatements — non-educational city, county and state taxes — to BioCryst was $1,828,470.
The company disclosed Friday its plans to license out the late-stage development and commercialization of its clinical program, BCX10013 — assuming the company gets positive data from an ongoing proof-of-concept trial later this year.
A BioCryst spokesperson said that nearly all of jobs were within research and development and that this reduction is not concentrated in a specific geography. In addition to its facility in Birmingham, BioCryst has a headquarters in Durham and a European headquarters in Ireland.
The spokesperson said the company believes that if it has "best-in-class data" for BCX10013, a partner would be able to "drive the speed and breadth of investment required to accelerate the program for patients across multiple complement-mediated diseases and maximize the commercial potential of the program."
The layoffs will not affect the timelines of other programs under development, the spokesperson said. BioCryst in November held an event in Alabama where it unveiled five new programs added to the company's pipeline.
Shares for the company closed at $7.65 Monday, up 25%. The stock's 52-week high is $11.36. BioCryst reported revenues of $270.8 million in 2022. It's cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments totaled $399.2 million as of Sept. 30.
With this restructuring and the postponement of previously planned capital expenditures at its Birmingham facility, BioCryst expects to reduce its research and development expenses by $20 million in 2024 compared to last year. Meanwhile, the company is also projecting a $20 million increase in sales, general and administrative expenses as it supports the growth of its lead commercial product, Orladeyo.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2020 approved Orladeyo as a treatment for the prevention of hereditary angioedema – a rare disorder characterized by episodes of severe swelling – for patients 12 and older. BioCryst has seen steady growth in sales of Orladeyo since its launch. Based on preliminary financial results released Friday, net revenue for Orladeyo totaled $325 million in 2023, up about 29 percent from the previous year.
BioCryst is expecting further growth in 2024, with the company projecting global net revenue of Orladeyo between $380 million and $400 million. The company anticipates that peak sales of the drug will eventually reach $1 billion.
As it projects further growth in Orladeyo revenue, BioCryst is aiming to keep its expenses flat in 2024 compared to last year. Based on its preliminary financial results, BioCryst is expecting full year operating expenses this year between $365 million and $375 million.
With its capital allocation and revenue from Orladeyo, the company expects to achieve a full-year operating profit in 2024. BioCryst also expects to approach quarterly positive earnings per share and positive cash flow in the second half of 2025. The company says it plans to reach these financial milestones without raising additional funds or drawing from $150 million of debt that's available from a previously announced financing deal.
"After three years on the market, Orladeyo continues on a steady growth trajectory to achieve $1 billion at peak," CEO Jon Stonehouse said in a statement. "This commercial success, alongside our proven discovery platform that is producing additional first-in-class or best-in-class molecules, uniquely positions BioCryst to achieve financial independence from the capital markets and accelerate our path to profitability."
