Generic drugmaker Teligent Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after the Food and Drug Administration flagged problems at the company’s manufacturing plant in Buena, N.J., that led to a recall and production halt, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The chapter 11 filing comes days after the resignations of Chief Executive Tim Sawyer and legal chief Philip Yachmetz. Teligent said Thursday that they had left the company, effective Oct. 8, without specifying a reason for their departures. Based in Iselin, N.J., the company filed for chapter 11 protection on Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., with plans to sell its assets. Teligent received a warning letter from the FDA in November 2019 and worked to fix problems at the plant, but failed to get a green light from the regulator following an inspection in July and August, Chief Restructuring Officer Vladimir Kasparov said in a court filing. The company is still working to address issues raised by the FDA, he said. Mr. Kasparov said the company’s finances grew strained as it devoted resources to resolving issues raised in FDA inspections. The COVID-19 pandemic also reduced demand for Teligent’s prescription skin products as elective visits to doctors’ offices slowed, he said. Teligent was previously a contract manufacturer, producing goods for other businesses, but in 2010 it shifted to focus on making generic drugs, according to Mr. Kasparov. The company makes injectable and topical medicines, including those prescribed to treat conditions such as dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema. The company has lined up $12 million in fresh financing in the form of two bankruptcy loans from senior and junior lenders, while rolling up over $15 million in existing loans into the loan facility. Ares Capital Corp. will act as one of the agents on the bankruptcy loans, court records show.
