Antibiotics developer Melinta Therapeutics Inc., which last month laid off most of its New Haven R&D team, has named John H. Johnson the company’s permanent chief executive officer.
Johnson, who sits on the board of directors, had been serving as interim CEO since the October departure of Dan Wechsler.
“John is a biopharmaceutical industry leader with a proven track record of growing businesses and unlocking value, and we are confident that he is the right person to lead Melinta into its next phase of growth and development,” said Melinta Chairman Kevin T. Ferro in a statement.
Under Johnson’s leadership, Melinta initiated a cost-cutting plan aimed at saving $50 million next year, which included cutting 22 of its 25 New Haven employees.
The move followed the company’s acknowledgement of rising costs and lower-than-expected sales of its commercial antibiotics, including its newly approved MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) antibiotic Baxdela. The company said it plans to outsource future drug-discovery efforts.
The company also announced workforce cuts at its offices in Illinois, North Carolina and New Jersey.
Melinta earlier announced it was looking for strategic partners to take on discovery research activities housed at its New Haven facility at 300 George St.
In a separate announcement, Melinta said it had secured a commitment from Vatera Healthcare Partners LLC, one of its chief investors, for a convertible loan facility of up to $135 million, with the option to be converted into preferred shares at a price of $1.60 per share.
Melinta Chief Financial Officer Peter Milligan said the cash infusion would “provide the company with the liquidity to fund the business well into 2020 as we take steps to become cash-flow positive.”
Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com
