Marinus Pharmaceuticals is cutting about 20% of its workforce and making other cost-cutting changes to extend its cash runway into the first quarter of 2025.
The company said Wednesday that it had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $113.3 million as of March 31. It’s stopping enrollment in the RAISE and RAISE II trials for ganaxolone, deferring an investment in IV ganaxolone manufacturing, laying off employees, cutting R&D and G&A functions, and making “other operational changes.” It had 165 employees as of Dec. 31.
“We have been prudent in our spend and have implemented cost-reduction measures to extend our cash runway beyond the two upcoming topline data readouts,” Marinus CEO Scott Braunstein said in a statement.
One of those readouts will come out of the 82-patient RAISE study, which is investigating an IV formulation of ganaxolone for refractory status epilepticus. In March, Marinus said the trial did not meet early stopping criteria and it would continue after an interim analysis. That announcement sent the stock down about 75% at the time.
Topline results from that study are expected this summer, and the company plans to use the readout to determine whether to continue developing IV ganaxolone. Marinus said it plans to keep the employees who will assess the RAISE results and decide on development plans for the IV version of the drug.
The company also expects to have topline data in the fourth quarter from the Phase 3 TrustTSC trial testing ganaxolone in tuberous sclerosis complex.
An oral version of ganaxolone, known as Ztalmy, first won approval in 2022 for seizures associated with a rare genetic disorder called CDKL5 deficiency. Ztalmy generated $19.6 million in revenue in 2023, and Marinus now expects US revenue to come in between $33 million and $35 million in 2024.
Marinus’ stock $MRNS rose about 5% on Monday, trading at $1.62.