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Isis Pharmaceuticals to Cut 40% of Jobs

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From Bloomberg News

Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it planned to eliminate about 40% of its jobs to pare expenses and focus on developing a few key drugs, including an ulcerative colitis treatment.

Writing down the value of assets such as equipment and patents will cost the company as much as $40 million in the fourth quarter. Additional expenses related to the firings will be recorded in the first quarter, Carlsbad, Calif.-based Isis said, without giving a specific figure.

Isis, the maker of the Vitravene drug for an AIDS-related eye disorder, intends to reduce its workforce to about 300 people from more than 460 employees, company spokeswoman Kristina Peterson said. Isis said it was terminating the development of hepatitis C and rheumatoid arthritis treatments and looking for a partner for the colitis drug, Alicaforsen.

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Shares of Isis rose 15 cents to $5.16 in Nasdaq trading.

Before Monday, the stock had fallen 32% in the last year after the firm said in March that a cancer medicine it was developing with Eli Lilly & Co. failed to help people live longer when combined with chemotherapy, compared with chemotherapy alone.

Isis said it would report a 2004 loss of about $85 million, excluding the restructuring expenses and some noncash costs.

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