ImmunoGen To Cut Workforce By 17% For Long Term Growth

Development-stage biotech company, ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) announced that its Board of Directors has agreed to restructure its operations and reduce the company’s workforce by 17% or 65 positions in technical operations and general and administration functions.

As a result, ImmunoGen will realize significant cost savings of approximately $11 million per year over the next two years in headcount, program, and support activities. The company said it will record one-time charge of $3.5 million to cover the costs of termination benefits. Cash payments will be paid by Jun 30, 2017.

The workforce reduction is slated to be complete in the quarter ending Dec 31. Consequent to the cuts, approximately 320 employees will remain in the company.

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ImmunoGen also announced that it is looking for a partner for its non-core B-cell lymphoma programs.

Meanwhile, the company plans to invest primarily on its lead candidate, mirvetuximab soravtansine, and accelerate the development of its two early-stage candidates – IMGN779 and IMGN632.

Note that, mirvetuximab soravtansine is being evaluated in studies both as a single-agent therapy for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and in combination regimens for both platinum-resistant and platinum-sensitive disease. The company plans to initiate a phase III study (FORWARD I) on mirvetuximab soravtansine in the current quarter, to evaluate the candidate as a single-agent therapy for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who have received up to three prior treatment regimens.

ImmunoGen currently carries a Zacks Rank #3(Hold).

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) , Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) and ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIP) . All of the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ariad has posted a positive earnings surprise twice in the last four quarters, with an average beat to 153.54%. The company’s share price has surged 122.2% year to date.

Anika Therapeutics’ earnings estimates for 2016 and 2017 were up a respective 9.5% and 11.5%, over the last 60 days. The company’s earnings have beaten estimates in each of the last four quarters with an average beat of 42.19%. Its share price has jumped 25.7% year to date.

Over the past 60 days, ANI Pharmaceuticals witnessed an increase of 9.5% and 4.7% in its earnings estimates for 2016 and 2017, respectively. The company has posted a positive earnings surprise in two out of the last four quarters, with an average beat to 46.85%. The company’s share price has soared 50.6% year to date.

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