Merrimack Pharmaceuticals

Last updated
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals
Company type Public
Nasdaq:  MACK
Russell Microcap Index component
IndustryPharmaceuticals
Founded2000 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Headquarters,
Number of employees
426 (2016)
Website www.merrimack.com

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. They specialize in developing drugs for the treatment of cancer.

Contents

Merrimack's first FDA-approved drug was approved in 2015; Onivyde, a liposome encapsulated version of irinotecan is used for treating pancreatic adenocarcinoma. It was approved for use in the European Union the following year. [1] [2]

History

Merrimack was founded by a group of scientists from MIT and Harvard University in 2000. [3]

In 2016, Merrimack had 426 full-time employees, 103 of which had an MD or PhD. [3]

In October 2016, CEO Robert Mulroy resigned and the company announced they would be laying off 20% of its employees. [4] In January 2017, interim CEO Gary Crocker resigned and the board of directors appointed Richard Peters to be president and CEO. Peters previously worked at Sanofi and was a faculty member at Harvard University. [5]

In January 2017, French pharmaceutical company Ipsen announced they would be purchasing Onivyde from Merrimack for approximately $1 billion. [6]

On November 13, 2018, the statistical programming director Songjiang Wang, received "six months in prison and one year supervised released" after a guilty verdict was handed down to Wang from a United States District Judge in July 2018 for securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. [7] Also on December 20, 2019, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission charged Wang with Insider trading. [8]

Pipeline

Merrimack has four drugs in clinical development.

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References

  1. "Investors - Merrimack".
  2. "Onivyde pegylated liposomal EPAR". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 17 September 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Merrimack - Annual Report". Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  4. Jamerson, Joshua (3 October 2016). "Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Cuts Jobs; CEO Resigns Amid Restructuring Effort". Wall Street Journal.
  5. "Merrimack - Current Report". Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. "Ipsen to buy some Merrimack assets for about $1 billion". Reuters. 9 January 2017.
  7. "Former Biopharma Statistical Programmer Sentenced for Insider Trading". United States Department of Justice . November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  8. "Former Biopharmaceutical Executive Charged with Insider Trading". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.