Lexicon Pharma to cut 45 percent jobs, CEO to leave

(Reuters) – Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc said its Chief Executive would leave and it would cut its workforce by about 45 percent, as it moves its focus away from drug discovery to completing the studies of its drugs in late-stage development. “This transition increases Lexicon’s financial strength and will enable the company to more effectively advance our key late-stage programs and to prepare for commercialization,” CEO Arthur Sands said in a statement on Monday. The company said it would focus mainly on its drugs to treat diabetes and carcinoid syndrome, a condition which affects some people with a rare cancerous tumor. The company is testing two other drugs in mid-stage trials to treat irritable bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis.