Ahead of an FDA decision date later this year, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is trimming its workforce.
The company will lay off roughly half of its sales and commercial teams, it announced Tuesday, affecting about 75 people. Lexicon said the move will help it prepare for commercial activities for sotagliflozin in type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, and will “right-size” that work for the approved version of sotagliflozin, the heart failure drug known as Inpefa.
Mike Exton“We strongly believe in the value Inpefa offers patients, and we will continue to drive growth in heart failure with a targeted approach,” CEO Mike Exton said in a statement.
Lexicon resubmitted its approval request for type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease in June and said it expects a six-month review period, with a potential launch coming in early 2025. The cost-cutting will also help Lexicon fund a Phase 3 study for sotagliflozin in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as other clinical trials.
Sotagliflozin was rejected in diabetes in 2019 because of safety issues, but the FDA and Lexicon agreed on a new, narrower path last year as an adjunct to insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Lexicon previously partnered with Sanofi to develop the drug, but the French pharma company walked away after the 2019 rejection.