Why Is Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Trading Lower Today?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc APLS revealed a comprehensive corporate restructuring plan aimed at catalyzing the growth of its flagship products, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection) and Empaveli (pegcetacoplan).

The company is prioritizing the advancement of systemic pegcetacoplan in treating immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN) and C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) - rare kidney disorders.

Top-line data from the Phase 3 VALIANT study are expected in 2024. However, Apellis has no plans to initiate fresh clinical development programs with systemic pegcetacoplan.

Research endeavors will be concentrated on high-potential prospects within retinal and central nervous system diseases, while certain development projects such as siRNA with systemic pegcetacoplan, APL-1030, and APL-2006 are being deprioritized. 

The company remains actively engaged in collaboration with Beam Therapeutics Inc BEAM, focused on harnessing base editing to innovate novel therapies for complement-driven diseases.

Apellis is aligning its organizational structure with the outlined priorities, entailing a reduction in staff by around 225 employees, roughly a quarter of the existing workforce across the organization. 

The intended workforce reduction is projected to conclude in Q3 of 2023. 

This strategic move is anticipated to yield cost savings of up to $300 million through 2024. 

Apellis foresees one-time expenses related to the workforce reduction, with an estimated range of $9 million to $11 million, predominantly in the latter half of 2023.

Price Action: APLS shares are down 4.65% at $40.97 on the last check Tuesday.