NEW YORK – Viracta Therapeutics on Wednesday shuttered and laid off all employees.
The financially beleaguered San Diego-based company last fall laid off 42 percent of its employees and reduced the number of seats on its board of directors as part of a restructuring plan to conserve resources and focus on developing nana-val, a combination of the investigational HDAC inhibitor nanatinostat and the anti-viral agent valganciclovir. Then, in December, the company decided to close the pivotal Phase II trial testing nana-val in patients with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive relapsed or refractory lymphomas and explore strategic alternatives for the asset.
Documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission show that the company's board of directors on Monday approved a complete shutdown of the company. The following day, the firm was delisted from the Nasdaq because it didn't meet the $1.00 per share minimum requirement.
The company's executives, including Viracta CEO and President Mark Rothera, have stepped down, and the board of directors has resigned and appointed Craig Jalbert, principal at the accounting firm Verdolino & Lowey, to manage the closing of the firm.
The company said it is still seeking strategic alternatives for its development programs. Viracta will incur a $100,000 one-time charge associated with the workforce termination.