Acorda to cut 20% of staff in restructuring effort

Acorda Therapeutics (NSDQ:ACOR) said today that it plans to cut 20% of its workforce as a part of a cost reduction and restructuring effort. The move comes less than 1 week after the company lost patents related to its multiple sclerosis drug, Ampyra.

The Ardsley, N.Y.-based company had 597 employees as of February, according to Reuters, and the job cuts are expected to save more than $21 million annually.

“The decision to reduce headcount is extremely difficult, but is necessary to ensure that Acorda can continue to bring important therapies to the market,” president & CEO Dr. Ron Cohen said in prepared remarks. “We are grateful for the dedication and hard work of all of Acorda’s associates. Their commitment has enabled Acorda to deliver on our mission of developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders.”

The restructuring will allow the company to focus on its late-stage studies for Parkinson’s disease, Acorda said.

A federal judge in Delaware dealt a loss to Acorda last week, when it struck down key patents related to Ampyra. The decision opens the door for generic versions made by companies including Mylan (NSDQ:MYL), Roxane Laboratories and Teva (NYSE:TEVA).

In March, Acorda touted data from 2 ongoing, long-term safety studies of its inhaled Parkinson’s therapy. The trials showed no difference in pulmonary function between the group receiving CVT-301, the inhaled formulation of Parkinson’s drug levodopa, and the control group.

The investigational drug is being studied as a therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease experiencing “off” periods, or a re-emergence of symptoms.

Acorda plans to submit a New Drug Application to the FDA by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2017, as well as a Marketing Authorization Application in Europe by the end of this year.