QLT slashes workforce, CEO resigns Mon Jul 9, 2012 12:14pm EDT (Reuters) - QLT Inc has cut 68 percent of its workforce and its chief executive has resigned, the Canadian biotechnology company's new board of directors said on Monday in a letter to shareholders, sending its stock higher. Activist investors took control of QLT's board in early June, after a proxy campaign launched by Danish investment fund NB Public Equity Komplementar ApS. The board said several senior executives would leave the company, revised its guidance, said it was considering selling or spinning off parts of the business and authorized a $100 million return of capital to shareholders. "Our board was elected by concerned and frustrated shareholders, disquieted that the company's spending and headcount seemed inappropriate given the nature of its assets, size and focus," said the letter. We believe that it is critical that a change in QLT's direction be implemented to prevent further erosion of QLT's value and assets. QLT, a strong performer in the early 2000s on sales of its Visudyne treatment for age-related blindness, lost market share following entry of rival products such as Novartis AG's Lucentis. It will now focus on developing QLT091001, a treatment for several inherited eye diseases that can cause blindness. European and U.S. regulators have given the compound orphan drug status, which makes it easier to win marketing approval for treatments for rare diseases. The Vancouver-based company said it would slash 146 jobs and continue with a workforce of 68. It expects to report a restructuring charge of about $15 million to $19 million. It has retained Goldman Sachs to explore the sale or spin-out of its punctal plug drug delivery system and to explore options for its Visudyne business. Chief Executive Bob Butchofsky, among those ousted from the company's board last month, resigned but will continue as CEO until end of this month or until the company finds a replacement. Several other executives, including Chief Financial Officer Cameron Nelson, are also leaving the company. The board said it now expects 2012 adjusted EBITDA to be between positive $3 million to negative $3 million, compared with QLT's previous forecast of negative $10 million to negative $17 million. The board authorized a $100 million capital return, "to be implemented as soon as practicable." It said it was considering the best way to return capital. QLT shares rose 1.8 percent to C$7.84 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Reporting by Maneesha Tiwari in Bangalore and Allison Martell in Toronto; Editing by Joyjeet Das