XenoPort neurology, autoimmune news
XenoPort will reduce headcount by 25 (14%) to about 155 and plans to partner XP23829 and other pipeline candidates to focus on commercializing Horizant gabapentin enacarbil. Cuts include positions related to the XP23829 program. Additionally, Ronald Barrett retired as CEO and director. EVP and COO Vincent Angotti succeeds Barrett. Angotti has led Horizant’s commercialization.
Horizant is approved in the U.S. to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS) and to manage postherpetic neuralgia. NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is conducting a Phase II trial of Horizant to treat alcohol use disorder. XenoPort regained U.S. commercialization rights to Horizant from former partner GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK, London, U.K.) and re-launched the drug in the U.S. in 2013. The company reported $20.2 million in U.S. Horizant sales in 2014. Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503, Tokyo, Japan) markets the transported prodrug of gabapentin in Japan as Regnite. ...