Obalon Cuts Half of Its Staff in Restructuring

Obesity treatment specialist Obalon Therapeutics is set to cut its staff by 50% in a move that includes the elimination of its direct sales force and a reduction in headquarters staff. The firm said it was jettisoning off its sales force to transition to a new selling model intended to efficiently use the existing resources to develop the market and drive revenue. In a release, Obalon CEO Kelly Huang, Ph.D said, “Our new selling model will focus on more centralized customer support and marketing programs intended to drive higher levels of engagement, and may include pilot programs that can be more efficiently scaled if successful, including: the establishment of our own Obalon Balloon Retail Center; a new program rewarding top-performing accounts for increasing focus on and investment in Obalon; and initiatives for use by other medical weight loss specialties.” In addition, Obalon said more details about the model would be revealed during an earnings call in May. Join us for New England’s Premier Medtech Event Held at the Boston Convention Exhibition Center in Boston, MA, May 15-16.  Obalon said it expects the restructuring to reduce operating expenses in 2Q19 by about 35%, after one-time charges of nearly $1million, when compared to 1Q19. The restructuring caused shares for the San Diego, CA-based company to drop more than 40% on Wednesday. Prior to the restructuring, Obalon garnered $30 million from a stock p...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Implants Business Source Type: news