Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Explained

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Type:Public
Industry:Pharmaceuticals
Traded As:NASDAQ:
Russell Microcap Index component
Successors:-->
Founded:2000 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Founders:-->
Hq Location City:Cambridge, Massachusetts
Hq Location Country:United States
Num Employees:426
Num Employees Year:2016

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

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.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Investors - Merrimack.
  2. Web site: Onivyde pegylated liposomal EPAR . European Medicines Agency (EMA) . 17 September 2018 . 19 June 2020.
  3. Web site: Merrimack - Annual Report. 2017-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20170203081409/http://investors.merrimackpharma.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-16-480919&CIK=1274792. 2017-02-03. dead.
  4. News: Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Cuts Jobs; CEO Resigns Amid Restructuring Effort. Joshua. Jamerson. 3 October 2016. Wall Street Journal.
  5. Web site: Merrimack - Current Report. 2017-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20170203081413/http://investors.merrimackpharma.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-17-14208&CIK=1274792. 2017-02-03. dead.
  6. News: Ipsen to buy some Merrimack assets for about $1 billion. 9 January 2017. Reuters.
  7. Web site: Former Biopharma Statistical Programmer Sentenced for Insider Trading . November 13, 2018 . . December 20, 2019.
  8. Web site: Former Biopharmaceutical Executive Charged with Insider Trading . December 20, 2019 . . December 20, 2019.