Melinta Therapeutics’ longtime Chief Scientific Officer Erin Duffy, who was handpicked by company founders nearly two decades ago and led their pioneering antibiotics development program based on Nobel prize-winning Yale research, is leaving the biotech as of March 15, according to a recent SEC filing.
Duffy oversaw the research team based at Melinta’s New Haven office, which was gutted late last year as the company pivoted away from R&D to focus on commercial launches of its newly approved antibiotic Baxdela and three others it recently acquired. The shift is part of a cost-cutting plan as Melinta tries to raise its stock price and bolster its bottom line.
Duffy joined the Elm City-born company in 2002, when it was Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, and became its chief scientific officer in 2011. She had been leading Melinta’s ESKAPE pathogen program, which aimed to develop a single antibiotic that would kill all six of the deadliest drug-resistant bacteria, commonly known as superbugs.
The program was based on the science of late Yale biochemist Thomas A. Steitz, who won the Nobel Prize in 2009 for his work mapping the atomic structure of the ribosome.
Duffy was the focus of a profile in New Haven BIZ sister publication the Hartford Business Journal in 2016.
Melinta did not respond directly to questions about her departure, but said in an email that “the company has made meaningful strides in recent months on its strategic initiatives designed to accelerate sales, lower costs across the organization and optimize its balance sheet.”
“These actions have included an increased emphasis on product launches and commercialization efforts, a realignment of the company’s cost base driven primarily by lower R&D and G&A costs and a refocusing of the company’s sales and marketing priorities,” the email said.
Melinta announced late last year that it was looking to outsource R&D activities and in November laid off 22 of 25 employees in its flagship New Haven office, where Duffy was based.
The company also has offices in Illinois, North Carolina and New Jersey. It is unclear whether there will be any New Haven employees remaining with the company following Duffy’s exit.
Duffy did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Melinta also announced last month that its shareholders and board approved a one-for-five reverse stock split, which took effect on Feb. 21. The move reduced the number of shares of common stock from approximately 56 million to approximately 11 million, according to the company.
Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com
