Finance Watch: Public Market Doldrums Have Not Sunk Private Company Funding Yet

Restructuring plans have led to significant layoff announcements:

• Heron Therapeutics, Inc. in San Diego – the marketer of post-operative pain drug Zynrelef and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting medicines Cinvanti and Sustol – said on 30 June it will streamline its acute care and oncology care franchises to generate $43m in annualized cost savings and extend its cash runway, resulting in a 34% headcount reduction. (Also see "Heron Overcomes Two CRLs To Win Zynrelef Approval In Post-Op Pain" - Scrip, 13 May, 2021.)

• Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc, while it seeks a faster path for the long-delayed approval of its narcolepsy drug FT218, revealed a plan on 29 June to cut its cost structure and extend its cash runway, which will result in a 50% workforce reduction at the Dublin-headquartered company. (Also see "Heron Overcomes Two CRLs To Win Zynrelef Approval In Post-Op Pain" - Scrip, 13 May, 2021.)

• Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. has cut its staff down to just six employees after selling off a portion of its portfolio to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, ceasing all research and development activities, terminating its lab lease, and selling off its lab and other equipment. (Also see "Vertex Spots Potential Bargain Of $60m Entry Into Complement Regulation" - Scrip, 24 May, 2022.) As a result, the South San Francisco-based firm said on 29 June, it will distribute up to $65m in cash to its investors, depending on the outcome of ongoing shareholder litigation.

• Princeton, NJ-based Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. disclosed a plan to streamline its operations on 28 June that will save $6m-$8m in the second half of 2022 and $40m-$48m in 2023, achieved mostly through non-employee cost cuts, although 50 people will lose their jobs. The cost cuts aim to maximize the launch of Tyrvaya for dry eye disease. (Also see "