100 jobs go as Renovo closes HQ
DRUG discovery firm Renovo, which scrapped its main Juvista anti-scarring product after poor trial results in February, will close its headquarters in Manchester at the end of the month with the loss of around 100 jobs.
Renovo embarked on a 90-day consultation with staff after receiving the unexpectedly bad trial results which have undermined the whole business.
It will continue with trials for two other products – Adaprev, which is being developed to prevent scar tissue following hand surgery, and Prevascar which also prevents scarring – but this work will be outsourced.
The company should have cash of £33m after settling redundancy costs. The trials for Adaprev and Prevascar are expected to cost £1m.
Chief executive Prof Mark Ferguson will step down at the end of the month and become a non-executive chairman. Other boardroom changes will see company secretary David Blain become part-time chief financial officer while non-execs Rodger Pannone, John Hutchinson, Barrie Thorpe, John Goddard, Susan Taylor and Lord Leslie Turnberg will leave the business.
Jamie Brooke, an investment manager at the company’s largest shareholder, Henderson Global Investors, will join the board as a non-executive.
Despite the company’s failure, today’s statement shows that Mark Ferguson, David Blain and John Hutchinson will still receive thousands of shares issued under a long-term incentive plan.
