Local biotech Sequenom Inc., a genetics analysis company, announced Sept. 14 that it will cut 44 jobs, most coming from its San Diego headquarters.
The change reflects about a 30 percent reduction of Sequenom’s total work force.
Sequenom’s headquarters is on John Hopkins Court northeast of North Torrey Pines Road and Genesee Avenue. The biotech also has offices in Newton, Mass., Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The company said it will save $7 million to $9 million annually by laying off workers and cutting other costs in an effort to foster long-term growth. Sequenom said it wants to focus on marketing its MassArray technology, which is equipment for analyzing nucleic acids by mass spectrometry, as well as its iPlex assay, which allows scientists to reduce the cost of mapping genes.
Sequenom is eliminating the company’s chief medical officer position, held by Andreas Braun, 48.
It is also consolidating the company’s chief financial officer and vice president of finance positions.
John Sharp, who is now the company’s vice president of finance, is expected to become the chief financial officer in the company when the current CFO, Stephen Zaniboni, leaves. The company expects him to leave in the fourth quarter. The company did not elaborate. Executives were in a meeting and could not be reached in time for this report.
Sequenom’s stock closed at 89 cents a share Sept. 14, up 2 cents from the previous day’s close. Its Nasdaq symbol in SQNM.
The company’s revenue in 2003 was $30.3 million and $30.9 million the year before. Its 2003 annual report, the latest one available on the company’s Web site, attributed the revenue reduction to dedication of funds to “internal discovery genetics programs,” instead of “pursuing low-margin collaborative genotyping services.”
Katie Weeks
