NitroMed cuts sales force
NTMD eliminated its 120-person BiDil sales force to conserve cash to accelerate development of an extended-release formulation of the product, which is a fixed-dose combination of hydralazine hydrochloride and disosorbide dinitrate that is approved to treat heart failure in black patients. The company expects once-daily BiDil XR to begin Phase I testing within a month. NTMD will replace the sales force with a team of cardiovascular specialists who will focus on regional and national "thought-leader" physicians, current BiDil prescribers and institutions that treat large numbers of black patients with heart failure. The company, which reduced its R&D headcount in March, also reiterated its plans to partner its portfolio of NO-enhancing technologies, including NMI-3377, a cardio-renal compound in preclinical development (See BioCentury Extra, Thursday, March 30, 2006). ...