SEATTLE, Oct. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PhaseRx, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PZRX), a biopharmaceutical company developing mRNA
treatments for life-threatening inherited liver diseases in
children, today announced that its board of directors has made a
determination to conduct a restructuring of operations to
reduce short term operating costs and delay the development of its
lead product candidate PRX-OTC. This reorganization includes a
reduction in PhaseRx's workforce by 10 employees, including some
executive officers. These efforts are aimed at preserving the
company's cash resources. As of June 30,
2017, PhaseRx had cash and equivalents of $8.4 million and a total of 20 employees.
The board of directors has also begun a review of strategic
alternatives, including but not limited to a potential merger
transaction. The company has not set a timetable for this process.
No decision has been made as to whether the company will engage in
a transaction or transactions and there can be no assurance that
the review of strategic alternatives will result in a transaction,
or the terms or timing of any potential transaction that may take
place.
The company does not intend to discuss or disclose further
developments during this process unless and until its board of
directors has approved a specific action or otherwise determined
that further disclosure is appropriate.
About PhaseRx
PhaseRx is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing
mRNA products for the treatment of children with inherited enzyme
deficiencies in the liver using intracellular enzyme replacement
therapy (i-ERT). PhaseRx's initial product development focus is on
urea cycle disorders, a group of rare genetic diseases that
generally present before the age of twelve and are characterized by
the body's inability to remove ammonia from the blood with
potentially devastating consequences for patients. The company's
i-ERT approach is enabled by its proprietary Hybrid mRNA
Technology™ platform. PhaseRx is headquartered in Seattle. For more information, please visit
www.phaserx.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such
statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will,"
"plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts,"
"estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar
words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to
various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the company's control, and cannot be predicted or
quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and
uncertainties associated with (i) the fact that the company has
incurred significant losses since its inception and anticipates
that it will continue to incur significant losses for the
foreseeable future, (ii) the company being dependent on
technologies it has licensed and that it may need to license in the
future, (iii) the fact that the company will need to raise
substantial additional funding to develop its planned products,
(iv) the fact that the company's Hybrid mRNA Technology has not
previously been tested beyond company preclinical studies, and that
mRNA-based drug development is unproven, (v) the fact that all of
the company's programs are in preclinical studies or early stage
research and it is uncertain that any company product candidates
will receive regulatory approval or be commercialized, (vi) the
fact that development of the company's product candidates will be
expensive, time-consuming and subject to regulatory approval, (vii)
the company expecting to continue to incur significant research and
development expenses, (viii) the company becoming dependent on
collaborative arrangements for the development and
commercialization of its products, (ix) the company's ability to
adequately protect its proprietary technology from legal
challenges, infringement or alternative technologies and (x) the
biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries being intensely
competitive. More detailed information about the company and the
risk factors that may affect the realization of forward looking
statements is set forth in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the most recent
annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents
free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. The
company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its
forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
Contacts:
Corporate Communications
Contact:
Jason Spark
Canale Communications
Senior Vice President
jason@canalecomm.com
619-849-6005
Investor Contact:
Robert H. Uhl
Westwicke Partners, LLC
Managing Director
robert.uhl@westwicke.com
858.356.5932
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SOURCE PhaseRx, Inc.
