Praecis restructures

PRCS restructured and reduced its headcount by 60%, to about 75 from 182. The company will immediately discontinue promotion of its Plenaxis abarelix prostate cancer treatment in the U.S. due to lack of sales, which totaled $2.8 million last year. PRCS and partner Schering (FSE:SCH; SHR) will seek approval of Plenaxis in the EU and in SCH's other licensed territories, which include Russia, the Middle East, South Africa and New Zealand.

PRCS also will suspend clinical development and look to partner Apan, a beta amyloid 5-amino acid inhibitor that is in a Phase I/IIa trial to treat Alzheimer's disease. PRCS will continue to develop its PPI-2458 methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2) inhibitor, which is in Phase I testing to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and solid tumors. The company also will continue to develop its Direct Select drug discovery technology. ...