Targanta announces reduction in force by 75%

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. A biotech company that specializes in antibiotics to treat serious infections announced Thursday that it would reduce its workforce by three quarters.

Targanta Therapeutics Corp. will lay off about 75 percent of its 86 employees, leaving it with 27, by the end of this month. 

The company said the action was meant to preserve capital while maintaining key personnel to support the regulatory process for oritavancin, a semi-synthetic lipoglycopeptide antibiotic that Targanta says can kill a wide range of bacteria, including many resistant to conventional antibiotics. The company hopes to gain regulatory approval for oritavancin in the United States and the European Union. 

“This restructuring in no way reflects the tireless efforts and tremendous contributions of the Targanta team, who have worked so hard to advance this much-needed antibiotic therapy,” Targanta president and CEO Mark Leuchtenberger said in a statement. 

The layoffs will affect the highest levels of the company. Chief development officer Pierre Etienne, chief commercial officer Mona Haynes and vice president of operations and head of Targanta’s Indianapolis site Roger Miller will leave the company, according to Targanta’s statement.