Anthera lays off 45% of workforce, focuses on lupus

Two years after raising $32 million in an initial public offering, Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. said last week that it will cut about 17 jobs after shutting down a trial for a late-stage inflammation drug.
The Hayward company (NASDAQ: ANTH), which had 38 employees at the end of last year, said it would eliminate 45 percent of its jobs. It will focus on a lupus drug, called blisibimod, which is in a Phase II trial, the company said in a press release.