By The Associated Press
Friday, September 11, 2009
Osiris Therapeutics Inc. said Friday that its chief financial officer resigned on the same day the company's stem-cell drug candidate Prochymal failed two late-stage studies and the company's stock plunged.
Richard W. Hunt, who had been CFO since July 2008, resigned on Tuesday "to pursue new professional opportunities, effective immediately," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It said Hunt would be replaced as CFO by Philip R. Jacoby Jr., 57, who is also vice president of finance, corporate secretary, and chief accounting officer.
The company said Hunt signed an agreement on Wednesday to remain available to the company through December to help with the transition of his duties. The company agreed to pay him two months of his base salary.
The failure of Prochymal sliced one-third off the value of the company's shares, which had finished last week at $12.21. They opened at $7.40 on Tuesday morning after the news broke. On Friday, they rose 10 cents to close at $7.94.