NitroMed said the ``elite" team of cardiovascular specialists would focus on influential physicians, current BiDil users, and medical centers in major cities that treat a large number of blacks with heart disease. NitroMed estimated the restructuring would save it $30 million annually.
The new sales team is currently being hired, the Lexington-based company said.
The revised strategy aims to attract health plans, key institutions, and regional heart failure specialists who make decisions on therapy and influence a broad base of prescribers, Karabelas said.
The company said it believes the strategic shift will build a foundation of patients in advance of the release of a new drug, BiDil XR, which has not received regulatory approval. The BiDil XR capsule can be taken once a day, while BiDil is taken three times daily.
Liana Moussatos, an analyst with Pacific Growth Equities, said NitroMed had to cut its sales force because it wasn't selling enough BiDil to support it, and would have run out of cash in the first quarter of next year.
Moussatos said she believes the company's sales have been hurt because patients are buying cheaper generic versions of the two main components in BiDil. If the company can get swift approval of BiDil XR, the fewer doses could mean lower costs and make the drug more appealing to patients and investors, she said.
Shares fell 24 cents, or 9.49 percent, to close at $2.29 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
NitroMed said restructuring charges related to the move will be recorded in the fourth quarter, ending in December.
