Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, a Tustin, California-headquartered biopharmaceutical company, has reduced its overall workforce by 60 employees, or 20% of its workforce, as part of a series of planned strategic actions.

The company expects the workforce reductions to result in a net cost savings of between $3.7 million and $4.3 million in fiscal year 2018 and more than $7 million in reduced annualized operating expenses beginning in fiscal year 2019.

As part of the cost-saving initiatives, the company reduced Peregrine’s research and development (R&D) personnel by 50% to 11 employees. The remaining staff will support potential strategic alternatives for its R&D assets while continuing to assist with collaborative trials, its antibody discovery platform, and its exosome program. Personnel supporting the Avid Bioservices contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine, was reduced by 20% to 184 employees to align operations with the reduction in forecasted revenues. In addition, selling, general and administrative personnel was reduced by 8% to 49 employees as the company continues to pursue leaner support operations.  The charge to earnings for these personnel reductions will be between $1.1 million and $1.7 million, all of which is expected to be incurred during the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.

Last month, Peregrine announced that as part of its strategic review it intends to expand its board of directors to add new members with CDMO and biologics experience and to commence a search for a dedicated president to head its Avid CDMO business.

Source: Peregrine Pharmaceuticals