Drkoop.com, a health information provider, is closing its Austin, TX, offices — resulting in the loss of 45 jobs — and is consolidating its corporate headquarters in Santa Monica, CA, in an effort to cut costs and create new alliances, the company said yesterday.
The moves are expected to reduce the total cash expenses to less than $1 million per month. Cash expenses reached a high of $8 million a month last March.
The company, which has 2 million registered users, also said certain sales and business development employees would be located in the Philadelphia area.
“This new alignment and relocation will allow us to leverage opportunities that are not limited to the Internet,'' said Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of drkoop.com. “These will include a bricks-and-clicks portfolio of partners and offerings with multiple revenue sources, including license fees, subscription fees, revenue sharing, sponsorships and advertising.”
Co-founded by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, the company went public on June 8, 1999.
In early December, the Nasdaq notified drkoop.com that its stock had been trading below $1 for 30 consecutive days. The stock exchange required drkoop.com to comply with its listing rules or face removal.
Drkoop.com, which originally started with 185 employees, is now down to about 35. It cut 35 percent of its work force in May and in August reduced its staff from 120 to about 80.
