Biopharma Trevena has whittled its team down to four people, saying goodbye to several C-suite execs and continuing a strategic review that includes possible asset sale, merger or closure of the company.
Trevena’s approved opioid agonist Olinvyk is included in the review, with a potential sale, license, divestiture, or discontinuation of U.S. commercial sales all on the table, according to a third-quarter earnings release shared Nov. 7.
The central nervous system (CNS) disorder-focused business also houses a pipeline of early-stage clinical assets, such as S1P1R modulator TRV045, which is designed to treat pain tied to diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The company is also evaluating the asset as a potential epilepsy treatment via a partnership with the National Institutes of Health, according to Trevena's website.
Last month, the biopharma terminated CEO and President Carrie Bourdow; Chief Medical Officer and SVP Mark Demitrack, M.D.; and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Barry Shin in efforts to cut costs. The firings were without cause, according to Trevena.
Ex-CEO Bourdow continues to serve as chairman of Trevena’s board and acting CEO, while Demitrack serves as acting CMO and Shin has taken on the role of acting COO and CFO.
After the changes were implemented, the Pennsylvania-based company is left with four employees, according to the release.
Earlier this week, on Nov. 5, four board members resigned in connection with the ongoing efforts to slash costs.
The cost-cutting measures stretch back years when the biopharma cut 25% of staff in 2022 as part of a “realignment” of resources. The move included terminating a contract sales force agreement with Syneos Health and followed second quarter Olinvyk sales of $0. The opioid receptor modulator snagged FDA approval back in 2020 to help ween patients off stronger, more addictive opioids.
During the same time period, Trevena stopped an investigational COVID-19 treatment trial after the program’s data safety monitoring board found the med reached an “inferiority stopping criterion.”
Then, between the end of 2023 and mid-May 2024, Trevena implemented a 35% workforce reduction and said it was reviewing options for Olinvyk.
In August, Trevena underwent a reverse stock split, a move often enacted when a company’s share price dips too low. The split wasn’t enough to stave off delisting, with Nasdaq removing Trevena’s stock on Oct. 8 after the biopharma’s price failed to meet the $1 minimum requirement for more than 30 days.
After that, Trevena’s common stock began trading on the “pink sheets” market, or the pink open market operated by the OTC Markets Group, the lowest tier of three for over-the-counter stocks.
As of Sept. 30, the biopharma had $13.46 million to hand in cash and equivalents.