Around noon on a sunny Wednesday in mid-May, 25 or so employees of the Waltham, Mass-based biotech linkurl:Altus Pharmaceuticals;http://www.altus.com/ are unwrapping their offerings for a company-wide potluck; orzo salad, meatballs, curried cauliflower, chicken wings, fancy fruits, and an assortment of sweets soon cover a long table by the kitchen's window. "What is this, the last supper?" quips Nazer Khalaf, a small, round-faced man with a salt and pepper moustache, and at 15 years, Altus's most veteran employee.
Georges Gemayel, Altus's CEO, laughs, but Khalaf's humor carries a cutting element of truth: Early this year, the company laid off approximately 75% of its employees, bringing it down from about 135 people to 35. In May, the group moved from two spacious buildings to half of one of them; many of the offices stand empty, and much of the equipment in...
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lab mark equipment to be sold |
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Image: Altus |
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