Acusphere cuts jobs while waiting for FDA decision

Pharmaceutical company Acusphere Inc. said Monday it has cut it work force by 24 people, or 25 percent, and senior managers will take salary cuts of 10 percent or more beginning this week.

Acusphere is trimming operating costs while it waits for the Food and Drug Administration to approve a new drug application for Imagify, which is designed to detect coronary artery disease.

Watertown-based Acusphere said the target for an agency decision is late February.

The company said the job and salary cuts and termination of some consultants and contractors, along with earlier moves, have saved about $6.4 million in annual costs.

As of June 30, Acusphere had unaudited cash and short-term investments of about $12 million, it said. The company estimated quarterly cash spending of $8 million to $9 million in the third and fourth quarters and said available funding "should carry it well into the fourth quarter of this year."

The company said the salary reductions will hit managers at the vice president level and higher, effective on Friday. It said managers will get cash incentives and option grants if the company attracts "meaningful capital" after the FDA completes its review of Imagify.

Employment was 77 after the moves, the company said.