'200 layoffs' at Chester County erectile-dysfunction therapy company

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, a Chesterbrook drumaker that sells testosterone pills and other treatments for men who have difficulty keeping their penises erect, says it has cut 30 percent of its staff, consolidated its three sales forces into two, and hopes to save $75 million a year, so it can speed development of therapies for other medical conditions. The company expects to pay $20 million in severance and other layoff costs.

Auxilium employed 639 at the end of last year, says spokeswoman Nichol Ochsner. That included around 160 at the Chesterbrook, Tredyffrin Township offices and 130 at a Horsham factory, my colleague David Sell reported here. Company officials wouldn't say which operations were cut the most. The company in June said it would move its legal base to Canada, where income taxes are lower -- though Auxilium hasn't posted a profit since 2012.

Shares roses above $20 for the first time since July as investors cheered the abrupt firings. "They laid off 200 people today. It's like a funeral around here," a person familiar with the cuts told me. Auxilium statement here.