A Medical Device Daily
Northfield Laboratories (Evanston, Illinois) reported that it has terminated the employment of substantially all of its operational and staff employees at its manufacturing facility in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and headquarters in Evanston.
The company said it is evaluating its future options and its business.
Northfield has been working on a blood substitute called PolyHeme for use in trauma patients for more than 20 years, but was dealt a crippling blow last week by the FDA, which said the product's risks outweighed its potential benefits.
Like many experimental biotech companies, Northfield does not generate sales or profits because PolyHeme is its only product.
The company's survival has been hinging on federal approval of the blood substitute. Since its inception in 1985, Northfield has incurred losses of $220 million.