Pharma product developer to shed 20 jobs after €2m losses in first half

MERRION Pharmaceuticals is shedding 20 jobs at its headquarters in Citywest, Dublin, to reduce annual cash expenditures by 32%, following losses of €2.04m for the first half of the year.

The pharma product developer is reviewing its business strategies, having also suffered losses of €800,000 in the prior six-month period. Revenue for the first half of 2011 dropped by more than €1.5m to €1.2m, principally due to the completion of some development work for its Danish-based partner, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.

Merrion’s half-year accounts report stated: “Based on financial projections for the group, the company’s directors are satisfied that the group can support itself for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the interim financial statements. Consequently, the directors have adopted the going concern basis in the preparation of the interim financial statements.

“The group is a development stage enterprise. It is loss making, which is common for development companies in the life sciences industry, and has negative operating cash flows, primarily from costs incurred in research and development programmes and administrative costs. The group expects to continue to incur significant operating expenses in the foreseeable future.”

As at June 30, 2011, the group had cash and cash equivalents of €4.5m.

In May, John Lynch resigned as chief executive of Merrion, to be replaced by Jonathan O’Connell, Merrion’s chief financial officer.