Layoffs slowed in the second half of the year but many companies still cut hundreds or even thousands of employees since January.
2023 was a tough year for the biopharma industry, with several companies downsizing and restructuring their workforces to stay afloat. And unfortunately, 2024 was more of the same, with some companies including Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson are cutting hundreds or even thousands of employees.
BioSpace will continue to be your source of news on job cuts and restructuring initiatives throughout 2025. Follow along as we keep you up to date on which companies are tightening their belts and cutting staff.
Javara
Dec. 23
Javara, a North Carolina–based clinical research organization, is laying off staff as the company restructures, according to Fierce Biotech. Details about the number of employees being let go was not reported.
“As we look towards the future of Javara, we are focused on becoming even more agile and better equipped to meet the evolving needs of our patients, sites, healthcare partners and sponsor clients,” a Javara spokesperson wrote in an email to the publication. “To reach these goals, we made the decision to reduce operational complexities and simplify select workflows.”
Ring Therapeutics
Dec. 18
Ring Therapeutics has parted ways with “just under 50%” of its employees, a spokesperson told Endpoints News on Wednesday. Ring, a five-year-old Cambridge, Mass.–based Flagship startup focused on gene therapy, now has about 40 staff members left.
“We recently made the decision to focus on Anellobricks, Ring’s proprietary genetic medicine vector platform, which affords exceptional scalability and has the potential to transform genetic medicine,” the spokesperson wrote to Endpoints. “As a result, we have reduced our current staff to ensure we have the right mix of skills and capabilities to continue to grow as our pipeline progresses and we advance toward the clinic.”
Outlook Therapeutics
Dec. 17
Just weeks after announcing disappointing clinical trial results for its ophthalmic drug, Outlook Therapeutics announced it’s cut 23% of its workforce to help reduce costs, extend its cash runway and secure FDA approval of bevacizumab. The Iselin, New Jersey–based biopharma expects the move will save $1.4 million annually, excluding workforce reduction expenses.
Five employees were let go, according to a Dec. 16 SEC filing. The cuts likely leave Outlook with 16 employees.
On Nov. 27, the company announced its NORSE EIGHT clinical trial evaluating bevacizumab in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients had failed to meet the FDA’s prespecified non-inferiority endpoint at week eight. However, Outlook noted that preliminary data showed an improvement in vision, the presence of biologic activity and a continued favorable safety profile.
The company expects to announce additional trial data in January and plans to resubmit a biologics license application in the first quarter of 2025.
While the FDA in 2023 nixed approval for bevacizumab to treat wet AMD, the drug has European Commission marketing authorization. Outlook plans to launch bevacizumab in the European Union and the U.K. in the first half of 2025.
Editas
Dec. 16
Unable to find a development sponsor for its sickle cell disease therapy renizgamglogene autogedtemcel, Editas announced Dec. 12 it will terminate work on the ex vivo therapy and cut about 65% of its employees over the next six months. The move will affect several members of the company’s management team, including Chief Medical Officer Baisong Mei.
The biotech expects these adjustments will extend its runway into the second quarter of 2027.
Moving forward, Editas will focus its resources and expertise on developing in vivo CRISPR-editing assets. This pivot will capitalize on recent preclinical findings in various tissues.
For more details, read the article.
Bavarian Nordic
Dec. 12
Denmark-based vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic will close its San Diego research and development (R&D) site and lay off 48 employees there, according to a Dec. 9 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice. There’ll be two rounds of layoffs—with the first effective Dec. 13 and the second on or about March 31—and the site will close on or about April 1.
Bavarian acquired the San Diego facility from Emergent BioSolutions in 2023 as part of a deal that gave the vaccine maker Emergent’s travel health business. In addition to the R&D site, Bavarian received the rights to Vivotif, a typhoid vaccine; Vaxchora, a cholera vaccine; and CHIKV VLP, a chikungunya vaccine candidate that’s now in Phase III clinical development.
The company also announced this week that it plans to buy back up to 150 million Danish kroner ($21 million) of its shares. Bavarian stated the decision should be viewed in the context of “improved visibility” around its travel health business, citing events including the near-term completion of the integration of assets from Emergent. That integration, Bavarian stated, includes a “final restructuring” of the R&D organization, which it expects will generate annual savings of 50 million to 75 million Danish kroner ($7 million to $10.5 million).
Once the San Diego site closes, Bavarian’s remaining U.S. presence will be its U.S. subsidiary in Durham, North Carolina.
BenevolentAI
Dec. 12
BenevolentAI will cut its workforce as part of a strategic overhaul aimed at streamlining operations, reducing costs and returning to its core mission of technology in service of science, the company announced Dec. 11. The London-based business did not share how many people the workforce reduction will affect.
The layoffs are not BenevolentAI’s first employee cuts. In May 2023, the company announced it would let go about 180 people as part of a reorganization designed to optimize its pipeline and technology platforms to reduce costs and maximize value for stakeholders. In April 2024, BenevolentAI announced it would cut 30% of staff. It also closed its U.S. office.
Moving forward, the company will focus on creating standalone products that meet its partners’ drug development needs, Kenneth Mulvany, executive chairman, founder and activist shareholder, said in the announcement. He noted that BenevolentAI’s new strategic direction “builds on our strengths, empowering the biopharma industry with cutting-edge AI technologies backed by our compelling industry and patient proof points.”
Based on anticipated savings from streamlined operational efforts, the company expects to extend its cash runway into 2027.
Chroma Medicine and Nvelop Therapeutics
Dec. 12
As part of Massachusetts-based Chroma Medicine and Nvelop Therapeutics’ merger, an unspecified number of employees will be laid off due to areas of redundancies and overlap, Fierce Biotech reported.
Boston-based Chroma and Cambridge-based Nvelop announced their merger Dec. 11. The combined entity, nChroma Bio, has secured $75 million in new financing. That money, in addition to the cash on hand for both companies at the time of the deal, will provide multiple years of runway, according to the announcement.
The funds will also aid continued development of nChroma’s epigenetic editing platform and advance lead candidate CRMA-1001 into the clinic and to key data readouts. CRMA-1001 is a liver-targeted epigenetic editing therapy intended to treat chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis D coinfection.
Cellectar Biosciences
Dec. 11
Cellectar Biosciences on Tuesday kicked off a strategic reprioritization initiative that will involve an “immediate reduction in headcount” of 60%. The biotech expects to complete the layoffs in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The move follows the biotech’s communications with FDA regarding its cancer drug candidate iopofosine I 131. The regulator had indicated in early 2024 that Cellectar could seek accelerated approval for iopofosine I 131 using the company’s ongoing CLOVER WaM trial. Now, however, the FDA has said the biotech will need to run an additional randomized and controlled confirmatory study to support a regulatory application.
In light of this change in requirements, Cellectar has decided to pursue strategic opportunities to support the further development and commercialization of iopofosine I 131. “We have determined that such a program may best be brought to market by a larger organization with greater resources,” CEO James Caruso said in a statement.
Cellectar expects the restructuring effort to extend its cash runway into the third quarter of 2025.
Carisma Therapeutics
Dec. 10
As part of a strategic restructuring that includes reprioritizing its pipeline to focus on fibrosis, oncology and autoimmune disease therapies, Carisma Therapeutics will lay off 34% of its employees, the Philadelphia-based biopharma announced Dec. 9. The cuts includes 23 full-time employees, including three executives and research and development staff, according to a Dec. 9 SEC filing.
The company also underwent a workforce reduction earlier this year. In April, Carisma announced it would cut staff by about 37% during the second quarter. According to an April 1 SEC filing, the company had 107 full-time employees as of Dec. 31. This would likely leave Carisma with 44 full-time employees once the latest cuts are complete.
In addition to its workforce reduction, Carisma’s strategic restructuring includes ending development of CT-0525, a gene-modified autologous chimeric antigen receptor-monocyte (CAR-M) cellular therapy intended to treat solid tumors that overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) metastasis.
For more details, read the article.
Belharra Therapeutics
Dec. 10
Belharra Therapeutics, a San Diego–based startup working on small molecule oncology and immunology drugs, has cut 21 employees, leaving it with 30 people, down from 52 in June, Endpoints News reported on Dec. 9.
The employee cuts are expected to allow Belharra to extend its runway to achieve “key inflection points” while alleviating capital raise pressures, according to a spokesperson’s emailed statement to Endpoints. That spokesperson also wrote that the biotech will continue advancing its lead programs and working with partners Genentech and Sanofi.
Belharra announced its partnership with Sanofi in June, stating that the collaboration would leverage Belharra’s non-covalent chemoproteomics platform to identify and advance small molecules against undisclosed Sanofi-designated immunology targets. BioSpace named the move one of the top immunology and inflammation deals of 2024 at that time. Belharra is eligible to receive up to nearly $700 million in aggregate research, development and commercial milestone payments and royalties on net sales.
Belharra launched in January 2023 with $130 million in total funding that included $80 million upfront from Genentech, with whom it had inked a multiyear partnership. The biotech also received $50 million in Series A financing from Versant Ventures. In January, BioSpace named Belharra to its NextGen Bio Class of 2024 list, which recognized the hottest new life sciences companies in the U.S.
December 9
National Resilience on Friday announced that it is laying off 105 employees from its site in Alachua, Florida, as part of a strategic refocusing initiative.
The affected employees will start being let go in February 2025, with terminations to continue through June of next year. In a statement to Fierce Pharma, a Resilience spokesperson said that the CDMO is downsizing its Florida presence “to focus more strategically on commercial development and manufacturing to meet customers’ demands and patients’ needs.”
Resilience will continue to fulfill its contract obligations with the customers of the Florida site, according to the spokesperson.
Resilience came to own the Alachua facility after it bought Ology Bioservices in April 2021. The site primarily produces drugs and biologics for commercial clients as well as the U.S. government. At the time of the acquisition deal, it had won more than $1.8 billion in government contracts.
Also on Friday, Resilience named William Marth as its new CEO.
December 9
AmplifyBio is closing up shop in South San Francisco as it lays off an unspecified number of employees in the region and terminates its R&D and characterization services, according to a report from Fierce Biotech on Friday.
Some of the work in the shuttered site will move to the manufacturer’s new facility in Ohio, a company spokesperson told Fierce, adding that these changes will allow AmplifyBio to “integrate early drug discovery and characterization more seamlessly” with its manufacturing activities. The reorganization will also help the CDMO lower overhead costs and provide its services “at more market-competitive prices,” according to the spokesperson.
AmplifyBio is a preclinical contract research organization and manufacturing service provider that provides discovery, characterization and optimization services, as well as in vitro and in vivo safety studies. Its work includes several treatment modalities, such as small molecule drugs, mRNA therapies and cell and gene treatments.
December 5
A week after announcing a strategic operational alignment that includes shifting two California manufacturing facilities’ focus to contract biologics manufacturing, Agenus has announced employee cuts are on the way. The Lexington, Massachusetts–based immuno-oncology company did not offer details on the layoffs, such as how many people they’ll affect or which locations they’ll involve.
According to a March SEC filing, Agenus had 389 employees as of the beginning of that month. In addition to its Lexington headquarters, the company also has sites in Berkeley, Emeryville and Vacaville, California, and in Cambridge, England.
In its Dec. 5 announcement, Agenus noted it will concentrate resources on its lead botensilimab/balstilimab (BOT/BAL) program, which has “demonstrated robust clinical activity” in several types of cancer, including microsatellite stable colorectal cancer (MSS CRC). That regimen made the news earlier this year, when the FDA advised against the company applying for accelerated approval for BOT/BAL to treat relapsed/refractory MSS CRC without active liver metastases.
As Agenus moves forward with advancing BOT/BAL through clinical development and preparing for global regulatory submissions, it’s also working on significant cost reductions, as noted in its Dec. 5 announcement. The company is targeting a 60% cut in annual expenditures and hopes to lower its fiscal year 2025 cash burn to about $100 million. Agenus also recently secured a $22 million mortgage to boost its cash reserves.
December 3
Swedish biotech Alligator Bioscience on Dec. 2 announced that it will lay off 70% of its employees in a sweeping strategic re-evaluation campaign.
After the workforce reduction, the company will be down to 15 full-time staff. The layoffs, which are still subject to negotiation with trade unions, will mainly affect employees working in discovery and other nonclinical posts. Alligator expects the restructuring to lower its operating expenses by around $5.9 million annually.
In its press release, the biotech cited its “current capital constraints” as the reason for the strategic restructuring. Alligator also noted that all but one of its assets are now “under strategic evaluation.” The company will focus all of its resources on its lead asset mitazalimab, an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody being assessed for the first-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
For more details, read the article.
December 2
As part of cost-cutting measures while it looks to sell the global rights to hypertension drug aprocitentan, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals is considering cutting up to 270 positions globally, the company announced last week. The biotech expects those cuts to mainly affect its research and development and support functions at its headquarters near Basel, Switzerland. The company has one U.S. site, located in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
Regarding the global rights to aprocitentan, sold in the U.S. as Tryvio, Idorsia has entered into exclusive negotiations with an undisclosed company. As part of those discussions, the biotech noted it will receive a $35 million exclusivity fee that will extend its cash runway into 2025.
According to Idorsia, the agreement under discussion could include an upfront payment, milestone payments and tiered royalties on sales in return for the transfer of global rights to the drug and some company employees. The biotech hopes to sign the agreement before the end of this year and close the deal in early 2025.
Idorsia spun out of Johnson & Johnson’s $30 billion acquisition of Actelion in 2017. In March, the company received FDA approval for Tryvio, an asset J&J gave back to the biotech in September 2023.
November 27
Kronos Bio on Wednesday announced that it will trim its headcount by approximately 83% by the end of the year, as part of a previously announced cost-cutting campaign.
Kronos had 62 full-time employees—and one part-time staff member—as of March 11, 2024, according to an SEC filing. After the layoffs, the California-based biotech will have around 10 staff left. President and CEO Norbert Bischofberger is also stepping down from his role, effective Dec. 3, and will be succeeded by current COO and CFO Deborah Knobelman. Bischofberger will stay on Kronos’ Board of Directors.
The company first announced its corporate overhaul earlier this month, alongside its third-quarter 2024 business report. At the time, Kronos said that it was exploring strategic alternatives moving forward, which could include a merger or reverse merger, an acquisition or other business combination, sales of its assets or other strategic transactions.
Kronos also at the time terminated the development of its CDK9 inhibitor istisociclib after disappointing Phase I/II data in platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer.
November 27
Amidst a years-long restructuring effort, Novartis on Tuesday announced it will lay off nearly 140 more employees from in its New Jersey site, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) update.
The layoffs will start in February 2025 and run through August. In a statement to Fierce Pharma, a company spokesperson confirmed the cuts and said that it will primarily affect commercial field sales teams for Xolair, Tafinlar and Mekinist. The spokesperson nevertheless maintained that these medicines will remain available to patients.
Novartis in April 2022 announced a massive business transformation initiative, with an eye toward saving around $1 billion in operations costs through 2024. This effort included thousands of layoffs—in June 2022, the pharma announced that up to 8,000 jobs were on the chopping block. In September 2023, Novartis also confirmed plans to spin off its generics unit Sandoz.
The layoffs come as Novartis ramps up its pipeline investments, including the potentially $1.1 billion acquisition of gene therapy specialist Kate Therapeutics to deepen its neuromuscular expertise, and the a radiopharma deal with Ratio Therapeutics, which could reach up to $745 million.
November 27
Just months after revealing its merger with fellow AI leader Exscientia, Recursion Therapeutics on Tuesday announced that it will lay off dozens of employees to minimize redundancies, according to a STAT News report.
Citing a source who had been terminated, STAT noted that cuts were made across both Recursion and Exscientia. Spokesperson Ryan Kelly confirmed the workforce reduction, disclosing that less than 20% of employees were affected. Together, Recursion and Exscientia had a headcount of around 800, according to a press release last week announcing the completion of the acquisition agreement.
“With any merger, there are bound to be some redundancies and leadership changes,” Kelly told STAT.
Recursion and Exscientia first announced the merger in August 2024, which created a combined company carrying Recursion’s name with around $850 million in cash and cash equivalents—plus $100 million in annual synergies—which could support the combined entity into 2027. Both companies also have outstanding contracts that could yield additional milestone payments from powerhouse partners, including Sanofi, Merck KGaA, Roche and Bayer.
In total, the combined company is looking at more than 10 clinical and preclinical pipeline programs, on top of 10 advanced discovery programs and over 10 partnered programs. Many trials of its clinical candidates are expected to read out in the next 18 months.
November 26
Medigene on Tuesday kicked off a broad organizational realignment campaign as it struggles to find the resources to support its operations into 2026.
Part of this program is a steep workforce reduction. Around 40% of the German biotech’s employees will be let go in 2025—a “difficult decision to make,” according to CEO Selwyn Ho, who nevertheless noted that the layoffs are “a necessary step to ensure the long-term success of Medigene.”
The company will retain employees whose roles are critical for its new direction of focusing on R&D activities with the greatest potential for return on investment, as per the biotech’s news release.
Medigene on Tuesday also maintained its full-year 2024 guidance, including its prior estimation that its current cash runway will keep it afloat into July 2025. “The Company continues to evaluate all appropriate financing and strategic options to advance its cash runway into 2026 and beyond,” according to the news release.
In 2025, Medigene will focus its resources on the development of T-cell receptor (TCR)-guided therapies, optimized for sensitivity, specificity and safety, designed specifically for use in off-the-shelf modalities. The biotech will also prioritize its TCR-guided T cell engager MDG3010 in partnership with WuXi Biologics.
November 26
Alector will let go of 41 employees—or around 17% of its total headcount—after revealing disappointing Phase II findings for its Alzheimer’s disease antibody AL002 on Monday.
The layoffs are part of a sweeping realignment initiative, which Alector will implement to better align its resources with its new strategic priorities. Moving forward, the biotech will focus on its progranulin programs latozinemab and AL101/GSK4527226, which are being developed for frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively.
In connection with the workforce reduction, Alector expects to absorb a one-time cost of $3.9 million, associated mostly with severance payments and other related expenses. According to an SEC filing on Monday, the layoffs will take place in the first half of 2025.
As of September 30, 2024, Alector had $457.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments, which the biotech expects will give it enough runway through 2026.
Alector was down 31% in after-hours trading on Monday, in reaction to its Alzheimer’s readout.
November 26
As part of its drive to lower expenditure by around $1.5 billion through 2025, Bristol Myers Squibb announced plans to lay off around 195 more employees from its Lawrenceville, New Jersey sites.
The terminations will start on Feb. 13, 2025 and run through the end of next year, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification record. This latest round of workforce reductions brings BMS’s layoff total to nearly 1,330 this year. The job cuts started in March 2024, with 75 employees terminated. The pharma’s largest layoff round came in May 2024 and affected nearly 780 members of its staff.
BMS first announced its sweeping strategic initiative alongside its first-quarter earnings report in April 2024, noting that it plans to reduce management layers and streamline decision-making throughout the company. Core to this push is a headcount reduction of around 2,200 by the end of the year.
The pharma then intends to use its savings to prioritize R&D programs with the greatest return-on-investment potential, as well as those that could set it up for long-term growth. CEO Chris Boerner said at the time that these business adjustments will help BMS become “more agile” and “drive efficiency across the company.”
The cost cuts appear to be working. In both Q2 and Q3, the pharma beat analyst expectations, with revenues buoyed by the strong sales of products such as Eliquis and Opdivo. The pharma has also consistently raised its full-year earnings guidance—further evidence of the business’ robust performance.
November 22
To streamline its organization around its most immediate priorities, Sonata Therapeutics is parting with about 20 employees, Fierce Biotech reported. A spokesperson at the Watertown, Massachusetts, biotech told Fierce that in addition to the layoffs, founding team member Volker Herrmann is no longer leading the company. Chairman David Khougazian is now acting CEO.
Sonata did not tell Fierce whether it would deprioritize any of its programs. The company has been developing a new class of therapeutics—which it calls network medicines—meant to reprogram diseased cells to release therapeutic signals. In March, Sonata announced a research collaboration with Champalimaud Foundation to develop SNT-3012, the biotech’s novel network medicine intended to treat pancreatic and colorectal cancers.
According to PitchBook, Sonata has 54 employees and five investors, including Flagship Pioneering and Altitude Life Science Ventures. The company launched in 2022 after two Flagship companies, Inzen Therapeutics and Cygnal Therapeutics, combined.
November 22
Shortly after announcing it’s laying off more than 200 employees, 23andMe filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices indicating it’s letting go 153 employees in California and closing its South San Francisco location. The staff cuts are likely part of the previously announced workforce reduction.
According to the Nov. 19 WARN notices, the genetic testing company will trim its workforce by 122 employees in Sunnyvale and 31 employees in South San Francisco, effective Jan. 10. The 65,340-square-foot South San Francisco location, listed as 23andMe’s headquarters in a May SEC filing, will close.
23andMe announced it’s letting go more than 200 people Nov. 11, when it also shared that it is discontinuing development of new therapies to focus on genetic testing services and products. The company is exploring strategic opportunities for its therapeutic pipeline that could include licensing agreements, asset sales or other transactions.
November 21
Due to growing competition from rivals in China, Johnson & Johnson and Merck are letting go employees in that country, BNN Bloomberg reported, crediting Chinese media outlets as the first to cover the cuts. The J&J layoffs mainly affect a division that sells products used in surgery, while Merck is trimming its diabetes unit, sources told BNN Bloomberg.
Chinese media outlets reported the J&J cuts will affect as much as a fifth of the pharma’s mainland workforce. A company spokesperson told BNN Bloomberg that J&J “has recently implemented organizational changes to optimise our business operations.” BNN Bloomberg did not report the number of employees affected at Merck.
The layoffs in China are not the only ones affecting the J&J workforce as 2024 winds down. The company is also letting go 231 employees at its New Brunswick, New Jersey, headquarters. Those cuts are effective Dec. 27.
November 18
Gilead Sciences will let go 104 employees at its Foster City, California, headquarters effective March 14, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice. The cuts are likely part of an unspecified number of layoffs the company confirmed to BioSpace Nov. 14 that involve the company and its subsidiary, Kite Pharma. A Gilead spokesperson attributed the workforce reductions to the business making changes to further align resources with long-term strategic goals, which includes relocating some teams.
Gilead’s layoffs that will be effective in 2025 are now known to involve at least two states, as a Washington WARN notice revealed that 72 employees in Seattle will be let go starting Jan. 17. That site, which focuses on the company’s research and clinical development activities, is closing. Kite Pharma, meanwhile, will shut down its Philadelphia facility by the middle of 2025, Fierce Biotech reported last week.
For more details about the Gilead and Kite layoffs, read the article.
November 18
As it redefines itself into what CEO Adrian Rawcliffe last week called a “sarcoma-focused business,” Adaptimmune is reducing its workforce by approximately 33% in the first quarter of 2025.
The layoffs are part of a wider cost-cutting program that the biotech expects will lower its total operating expenses by around 25% in the first year of implementation. Under this savings initiative, Adaptimmune will also end enrollment in the Phase II SURPASS-3 trial of uza-cel, its next-generation investigational TCR T cell therapy being trialed for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
Adaptimmune’s business realignment comes after it last week announced a pivotal win for its TCR T cell therapy lete-cel in advanced or metastatic synovial sarcoma or myxoid/round cell liposarcoma. In the IGNYTE-ESO study, 42% of the 64 treated patients responded to lete-cel, including six who achieved complete response. Median duration of response reached 18.3 months in synovial sarcoma patients.
From 2025 to 2028, Adaptimmune expects its aggregate savings to reach around $300 million, excluding one-time costs associated with the terminations. This money will allow the biotech to focus on its synovial sarcoma business, including the launch of Tecelra (afamitresgene autoleucel) and the development of lete-cel. Adaptimmune projects combined U.S. peak year sales of $400 million for both assets.
Adaptimmune employed 449 staffers by the end of 2023, according to its year-end report.
November 15
Gilead Sciences and subsidiary Kite Pharma are laying off employees, including 72 people effective Jan. 17 at Gilead’s Seattle location, which will close, according to a Nov. 13 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. That site focuses on the Foster City, Calif.–based biopharma’s research and clinical development activities.
In addition, Fierce Biotech reported that Santa Monica, California–based Kite Pharma, which focuses on cell therapy to treat and cure cancer, will close its Philadelphia facility by the middle of 2025.
A Gilead spokesperson confirmed Gilead and Kite’s layoffs to BioSpace Nov. 14 but did not specify the number of employees affected. The spokesperson attributed the layoffs to the business making changes to further align resources with long-term strategic goals, which includes relocating some teams.
For more details, read the article.
November 14
To focus its resources on advancing clinical development of SNS-101, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, Sensei Biotherapeutics will cut 46% of its workforce, the clinical-stage biotech announced Nov. 14. The Rockville, Maryland–based company will also close its research site in Rockville. The moves are expected to extend Sensei’s cash runway into the second quarter of 2026.
According to the announcement, most of Sensei’s employee cuts will come in its preclinical research and development group. A Nov. 14 SEC filing stated the company should mostly complete the workforce reduction by the end of 2024. Once the layoffs are complete, the biotech could have about 15 employees given it had 27 full-time employees and one part-time staff member as of Feb. 23, according to a Feb. 22 SEC filing.
Sensei’s SNS-101 inhibitor is a conditionally active antibody designed to selectively target the immune checkpoint VISTA (V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell Activation) within the tumor microenvironment. The company is conducting a multicenter Phase I/II clinical trial of SNS-101 as a monotherapy and in combination with Regeneron’s PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo in patients with advanced solid tumors.
Sensei noted in the Nov. 14 announcement that it received preliminary guidance from the FDA on the dose optimization strategy for SNS-101 and plans to re-engage with the agency following additional data from the dose expansion portion of the Phase I/II clinical trial.
November 14
Just weeks after sharing disappointing Phase III results for ganaxolone to treat seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex, Marinus Pharmaceuticals has let go about 45% of its employees, the company announced Nov. 12.
It’s the second known layoff this year for the commercial-stage pharma in Radnor, Pennsylvania. In May, Marinus revealed it would trim its workforce by about 20%. In October, it stated it would cut an unspecified number of employees. The November layoffs appear to be the culmination of that cut.
Marinus had 165 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, according to a March SEC filing. As a result of the May and November cuts, the company could have about 73 employees remaining.
For more details, read the article.
November 13
For the second time in a year and in conjunction with a refocused pipeline, Orna Therapeutics has laid off employees, STAT News reported. The biotech based in Watertown, Massachusetts, confirmed the layoffs to STAT but did not say how many jobs it cut.
In November 2023, Orna let go less than a quarter of its staff, Endpoints News reported at the time. Regarding this month’s layoffs, spokesperson Peg Rusconi told STAT, “We believe that realigning our resources toward rapidly advancing our maturing panCAR programs will best position us to deliver our potentially breakthrough therapies to patients in need.”
STAT noted the biotech, which designs circular RNA therapeutics, will also focus on the vaccine collaboration with Merck announced in 2022.
Aimed at treating autoimmune and oncology diseases, Orna’s in vivo CAR platform panCAR combines its oRNA technology with proprietary lipid nanoparticles to make therapies that modify immune cells. The company hopes to bring its panCAR drug candidates to clinical trials by 2026, according to its website.
November 12
Genetic testing company 23andMe announced Nov. 11 that it will lay off more than 200 employees—about 40% of its workforce—as part of a sweeping business restructuring effort to streamline its operations and cut costs. That restructuring includes discontinuing its development of new therapies, instead focusing on its genetic testing services and products.
The employee cuts will cost the Sunnyvale, California, business up to $12 million in severance, transition and termination-related costs. In return, 23andMe expects to generate over $35 million in annualized savings.
For more details, read the article.
November 11
Thermo Fisher Scientific will lay off 160 employees across three Massachusetts locations, according to a Nov. 7 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The Wilmington-based tools and services company is letting go staff in Lexington, Plainville and Cambridge between Jan. 6, 2025, and Nov. 6, 2026. Thermo Fisher will close the Lexington facility, the Boston Business Journal reported.
As of Dec. 31, Thermo Fisher employed about 122,000 people globally, including 61,000 in the Americas, according to a February SEC filing. The Boston Business Journal stated the company had about 4,100 employees in Massachusetts as of September.
Thermo Fisher’s 50,000-square-foot, $90 million contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) site in Lexington opened in 2019. At that time, it was expected to add more than 200 jobs, employing scientists, quality control specialists and production teams to support development, testing and manufacture of viral vectors.
According to the Boston Business Journal, in a letter to the state explaining the cuts, Thermo Fisher wrote that it continuously evaluates its global operations for opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness in meeting customers’ needs. It added that to further use its state-of the-art Plainville facility and better optimize resources across its manufacturing network, as well as due to “external constraints regarding our Cambridge site,” it would adjust staffing in Cambridge and Plainville, cease operations in Lexington and transfer programs from Lexington to Plainville.
The 290,000-square-foot Plainville location provides comprehensive viral vector services ranging from process development to commercial manufacturing.
November 11
Charles River Laboratories has laid off more than 6% of its employees—over 1,300 people—since 2023, Endpoints News reported following the Wilmington, Massachusetts–based company’s Nov. 6 earnings call. The company also shared during the call that it’s begun to close or consolidate 15 smaller sites to consolidate capacity that’s no longer needed given lower demand for its products and services, according to Endpoints. Those locations focus on its discovery and safety assessment and regulatory management services.
While Endpoints requested additional details about the closures, Charles River did not say which locations are shutting down or if staff cuts are involved.
In September, Charles River confirmed to BioSpace that it was laying off 3% of its employees, saying in an emailed statement that it was reducing its workforce and streamlining its cost structure to optimize its footprint, more effectively support clients and drive greater operating efficiencies. An SEC filing stated the company had about 21,800 employees as of Dec. 30, so that workforce reduction may have affected about 650 people.
November 7
As part of a strategic restructuring to grow its lupus nephritis drug Lupkynis and rapidly develop its autoimmune disease candidate AUR200, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is cutting about 45% of its employees, the company announced Nov. 7. The Edmonton, Alberta–based biopharma company, which has a U.S. commercial hub in Rockville, Maryland, did not say which locations the layoffs affect or when they’ll be complete.
This is the second known workforce reduction this year for Aurinia. In February, the company announced it would cut at least 25% of its employees during the first quarter. That news came after Aurinia failed to find a buyer, Fierce Biotech reported.
In its Nov. 7 announcement, Aurinia stated the restructuring will improve operational efficiency and should save the company more than $40 million in annualized cash-based operating expenses. The business also noted net product revenue of $158.6 million for the first nine months of 2024. Its full-year guidance range is $210 million to $220 million for the fiscal year.
November 7
Just months after cutting 23% of its workforce, Viracta Therapeutics let go of 42% of employees as it increased focus on lead product candidate nana-val in lymphoma patients. The Cardiff, Calif., biotech announced the latest layoffs Nov. 6. An SEC filing that same day stated the cuts were effective Oct. 31.
The company’s board makeup also decreased Oct. 31 with the voluntary resignations of 4 of its 10 directors, according to the announcement.
Viracta had 40 full-time employees as of March 31, as stated in a May SEC filing. Based on cutting 23% of staff in August and 42% in October, the biotech now has about 18 employees.
For more details, read the story.
November 6
As Astellas Gene Therapies continues to wind down its San Francisco biomanufacturing facility, the Astellas Pharma business is laying off 10 employees there effective Jan. 1, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice.
The facility closure is expected to be complete by March 2025, affecting about 100 employees. How many of those employees are being let go is unknown, but cuts date back a few months. Seven people were laid off effective Oct. 21, and 10 were cut effective June 19.
Astellas Gene Therapies will move the San Francisco biomanufacturing facility’s programs and projects to its Sanford, North Carolina, location.
For more details about the closure, read the article.
November 5
As a result of a pipeline shift and other changes intended to extend its cash runway, Sana Biotechnology is laying off employees, the company announced Nov. 4. The Seattle-based company did not specify the number of cuts, when they will occur or which sites are affected. The biotech has locations in Seattle, San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As of Dec. 31, Sana had 328 employees, 251 of whom were involved in research and development activities, according to a February SEC filing.
The layoff news comes roughly a year after Sana downsized its staff by about 120 employees—29%—as it focused resources on its hypoimmune platform. That October 2023 workforce reduction was preceded by layoffs of an unknown number of staff in August 2023.
For more details, read the article.
November 4
As part of its previously announced layoffs, Sage Therapeutics let go 69 employees in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Oct. 31, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The Cambridge-based biotech had announced on Oct. 17 that it would cut over 165 employees, or about 33% of its workforce, a move it expected to mostly compete by the end of the year.
The workforce reduction is part of a strategic reorganization of Sage’s business operations, affecting about 55% of the company’s R&D workforce and five members of its leadership team. The biotech announced the reorganization about a week after it shared it had discontinued development of dalzanemdor in Alzheimer’s disease.
For more details about the overall employee cuts, read the article.
October 31
Compass Pathways will delay pivotal Phase III readouts for its psilocybin-based therapy for treatment-resistant depression, resulting in a layoff of around 30% of its workforce, the psychedelic drug developer announced Oct. 31. The cuts will include some management positions.
Compass had 32 employees at the end of December 2023, 19 of whom were primarily involved in research and development and clinical activities, according to an SEC filing.
The company, which revealed the delays in its third quarter business update, had expected data from a first Phase III trial, COMP005, this quarter, according to Fierce Biotech. Compass has now shifted that timeline to the second quarter of 2025. The company had also anticipated data from a second Phase III trial, COMP006, around the middle of 2025, Fierce reported. This readout has now been pushed back to the second half of 2026.
For more details, read the article.
October 30
As part of a restructuring following the suspension of its development program for an antibiotic candidate, Spero Therapeutics will lay off about 39% of its workforce, the company announced Oct. 29. The clinical-stage biopharma expects to mostly complete the cuts by end of the year, according to an Oct. 29 SEC filing.
As of Dec. 31, Spero had 46 employees, 30 of whom were mostly handling R&D activities, as noted in a March 13 SEC filing. If the Cambridge, Massachusetts, business has the same number of employees now, the cuts could affect about 18 people.
Regarding its antibiotic candidate, Spero shared that an interim analysis of the Phase IIa study of SPR720, a treatment being investigated for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, did not meet the primary endpoint.
For more details, read the article.
October 28
After announcing a revenue shortfall, Dublin-based contract research organization (CRO) ICON signaled during an investor call that layoffs are coming, Fierce Biotech reported. In the Oct. 24 call, the company’s CEO, Steve Cutler, shared the business is “looking at where we have an excess of people in certain areas” and “taking fairly decisive actions.” ICON has locations in 45 countries, including the U.S., where it has offices in 11 states.
ICON’s third-quarter revenue of $2.03 million, a 1.2% year-over-year decrease, failed to meet expectations for three reasons, according to the company’s earnings announcement. The CRO cited material headwinds from two large customers undergoing budget cuts and development model changes; lower than anticipated vaccine-related activity; and “ongoing cautiousness” from biotech customers, resulting in award and study delays.
The company also noted in its announcement that it expects an “outlook for growth over the medium term” and that its year-to-date revenue is $6.24 million, a year-over-year increase of 3.1%, or 3.2% on a constant currency basis.
October 25
Following a disappointing Phase III trial of ganaxolone to treat seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), Marinus Pharmaceuticals is laying off employees as part of cost-cutting measures, the company announced Oct. 24. The commercial-stage pharma is also discontinuing further clinical development of the drug and exploring strategic alternatives with the goal of “maximizing value for stockholders,” according to the announcement.
Radnor, Pennsylvania–based Marinus did not specify how many people it’s letting go or when the layoffs are effective. The company had 165 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, according to a March SEC filing. However, that number is likely lower now, as Marinus announced in May that it would reduce its workforce by about 20% as part of cost-cutting measures at that time.
In its Oct. 24 announcement, Marinus noted that the Phase III TrustTSC trial evaluating oral ganaxolone did not meet the primary endpoint of percent change in 28-day TSC-associated seizure frequency. It added that while reductions in seizure frequency favored the ganaxolone arm, the primary endpoint failed to achieve statistical significance.
October 23
At Pfizer, another group of employees is paying the price for the company’s recent Phase III Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) failure.
The layoffs, which will affect 75 workers at Pfizer’s Sanford, North Carolina, site, come four months after the company’s investigational DMD therapy, fordadistrogene movaparvovec, failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoint in a Phase III trial. Pfizer said the cuts are related to that trial failure, according to Fierce Pharma.
This latest wave of layoffs follows the elimination of 150 positions in Sanford immediately after the Phase III DMD readout. This is also the second round of layoffs in as many weeks at Pfizer after the company handed out 80 layoff notices at its McPherson, Kansas, facility on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17.
October 22
Pfizer handed out 80 layoff notices last Wednesday and Thursday at its McPherson, Kansas, facility, where around 1,800 people are employed, multiple local outlets reported. According to ABC affiliate KAKE News, the cuts affect positions in management and engineering but not in production.
“Following the announcement of our margin assessment program in May 2024, we’ve conducted a series of these evaluations focused on operational efficiencies and network optimization,” Pfizer said in a statement sent to the publication. “Based on these evaluations, we have aligned headcount with our site capacity designs to meet the needs of the business.”
There will be a meeting this week for those affected, Tucky Allen, Kansas WorkforceONE, told KSN News, noting that Pfizer reached out to his organization before announcing the layoffs, so his team could meet with laid-off employees and help them find new jobs, which could include placements within Pfizer. Allen told KSN that more and more manufacturing companies are making such cuts. “This time of year seasonally is obviously a time when employers will do their internal audits and see what their staffing looks like,” Allen said.
This is Pfizer’s second round of layoffs this month. At the beginning of October, The Irish Times reported that the company will eliminate up to 210 manufacturing jobs across sites in Grange Castle, Newbridge and Ringaskiddy, Ireland. Pfizer has not formally announced either round of cuts.
October 21
Takeda will lay off 45 employees at its Cambridge location and another 34 at its Lexington site between late September 2024 and March 2025, according to an Oct. 15 WARN notice. The announcement comes at the same time that the company decided to terminate its work on Wave’s WVE-003 clinical-stage Huntington’s disease program—a potential $5 billion commercial opportunity, according to the biotech.
This is the latest in a string of layoffs this year from Takeda. In July, the company let go of 220 employees in Massachusetts (189 Cambridge employees and 31 in Lexington). In May, the company separately announced layoffs of 641 in the state (495 in Cambridge and 146 in Lexington) and the shuttering of a San Diego R&D hub that employed 324 people. And in March, Takeda said 190 employees would lose their jobs as a result of shuttering R&D and manufacturing operations at a facility in Orth an der Donau, Austria.
In total, Takeda has now laid off or announced plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees so far in 2024.
October 17
About a week after announcing it’s discontinuing the development of dalzanemdor in Alzheimer’s disease comes news that Sage Therapeutics will lay off over 165 employees, or about 33% of its workforce.
The workforce reduction is part of a strategic reorganization of the company’s business operations, according to Sage’s Oct. 17 announcement. The cuts will include roughly 55% of the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech’s R&D workforce and five members of its leadership team. The company expects to mostly complete the layoffs by the end of 2024.
According to Sage, the reorganization is meant to support the ongoing launch of Zurzuvae in postpartum depression and focus pipeline development efforts for drug candidate dalzanemdor in Huntington’s disease ahead of a clinical study expected later this year. It’s also intended to extend Sage’s cash runway, although the company did not specify for how long.
For more details, visit the article.
October 14
SalioGen Therapeutics is laying off employees, according to “a person familiar with the situation and employee posts on social media,” STAT reported. The biotech has not formally announced a workforce reduction and did not reply to a BioSpace request for comment.
Based in Lexington, Massachusetts, SalioGen develops genetic medicines using its genome editing technology. In its most recent announcement, the company shared it had appointed a new chief medical officer, Kalliopi “Kali” Stasi. Stasi will be responsible for bringing the biotech’s candidate SGT-1001 into the clinic by mid-2025 as a one-time treatment for Stargardt disease.
October 14
A little over six months after news hit that Evonik would cut up to 2,000 employees, a fresh round of layoffs is on the way at the Germany-based specialty chemicals company and contract manufacturer. Evonik announced Oct. 11 that due to discontinued production of keto acids in Hanau, Germany, it will let go about 260 people by the end of 2025.
In March, Reuters reported Evonik will cut as many as 2,000 jobs from its global workforce by 2026, representing 32% of its workforce at that time. An Evonik spokesperson told Fierce Pharma the latest layoffs are not part of that workforce reduction.
In addition to the Hanau cuts, the company is also evaluating strategic options such as partnerships or divestment for its keto and pharma amino acid production sites in Ham, France, and Wuming, China, according to the Oct. 11 announcement.
For more details, read the article.
October 11
Medical technology company Medtronic will lay off 237 employees at its Santa Ana, California, location, effective Dec. 4, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The Ireland-based company did not formally announce the workforce reduction or reasons for it. According to a June SEC filing, as of Dec. 31 Medtronic had over 95,000 employees, of which 44% are based in the U.S. or Puerto Rico.
Medtronic develops technologies including cardiac devices and patient monitoring systems.
October 11
CareFusion Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Becton, Dickinson and Company, a global medical technology company, laid off 183 employees effective Sept. 10 across two San Diego locations, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices. Neither company formally announced the workforce reduction or reasons for it.
CareFusion develops technologies including infusion pumps and automated dispensing and patient identification systems.
October 11
As part of a strategic restructuring, Turnstone Biologics will lay off about 60% of its employees and change up its leadership team, the La Jolla, California–based clinical-stage biotech announced Oct. 11. The company expects to complete the workforce reduction by the end of the fourth quarter, according to an SEC filing on the same day.
Turnstone had 80 employees as of Dec. 31, according to a March SEC filing, meaning the layoffs could affect about 48 people.
As a result of its restructuring, which includes focusing resources on its selected tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy and three C-suite members’ exits, the biotech expects to extend its cash runway into the second quarter of 2026.
For more details, read the article.
October 10
Denmark-based Leo Pharma is closing and relocating up to 250 roles, Fierce Pharma reported. A spokesperson told Fierce most of those jobs are located in Denmark, and Fierce noted that according to a MedWatch report, about 200 roles will be cut and 50 positions shifted to Poland.
The move is part of Leo’s next step in its evolving strategy, a spokesperson told Fierce. The spokesperson noted that the reorganization effort is expected to help the company channel resources to key markets, reinvest in R&D and ensure continuity of care for those who depend on the pharma’s dermatology offerings.
October 10
Astellas Pharma will eliminate 24 roles at Universal Cells, its wholly owned subsidiary in Seattle, and transfer 12 of them to a new Universal site opening at the pharma’s research campus in Tsukuba, Japan, according to Fierce Pharma. Employees at the Tsukuba location, which will reportedly be Universal’s second facility, will fill the transferred roles.
Regarding the role changes and new site, an Astellas spokesperson told Fierce the company regularly reviews its organizations and operations to increase efficiency and leverage new technologies and innovation. The spokesperson added that the move should expand Universal Cells’ gene editing capabilities and evolve it into a center of excellence for cell therapy R&D.
For more details, visit the article.
October 9
Prime Medicine has laid off “a small number of people,” STAT reported. The Cambridge, Massachusetts–based gene editor in September announced a pipeline reorganization meant to extend its cash runway into the first half of 2026. The biotech has now confirmed to STAT that some employees who mostly worked on the shelved programs were let go but did not specify how many were affected. A company spokesperson told STAT there were no significant changes to headcount.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, Prime had 234 full-time employees, 202 of whom were engaged in R&D, according to an SEC filing.
Just before announcing its pipeline reorganization, Prime also announced it had signed a deal with Bristol Myers Squibb worth a potential $3.5 billion. The two companies plan to work together on ex vivo T cell therapies. Prime will design prime editor reagents for an unnamed number of targets in hematology, immunology and oncology. BMS will handle development, manufacturing and commercialization, with support from the biotech.
October 7
Kaléo, which invents, manufactures and commercializes products for serious and life-threatening medical conditions, will lay off about 58 employees around the country, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed in Ohio. The pharma did not provide a reason for the cuts in the notice but did state that all affected employees, who are sales representatives, report to its Richmond, Virginia, headquarters.
The expected first date of separation is Nov. 30, and the layoffs include five remote workers in Ohio, according to the notice. In addition, Kaléo is cutting eight employees in Richmond, according to a Virginia WARN notice.
The layoffs were disclosed Sept. 30, the day before the company announced that it’s “redesigned” its commercial team structure for Auvi-Q, its compact epinephrine auto-injector. Kaléo noted it will double the number of representatives providing in-office support to healthcare providers and expand its pharmacy support team to ensure providers and patients have easy access to its programs.
October 7
Stryker, a medical device company based in Michigan, will lay off six employees at its Lakeland, Florida, facility, effective Nov. 30, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice. The cuts are part of an ongoing “program of layoffs” that began in 2021 at the facility and are expected to total about 500 employees and result in the location’s closure by Dec. 31, 2026, according to a letter attached to the WARN filing.
So far, Stryker has eliminated about 220 positions at the facility, the company noted in the letter. As of Dec. 31, 2023, the business had about 52,000 employees globally, including 27,000 in the U.S., according to an SEC filing.
The latest cuts in Lakeland were disclosed at about the same time as an announcement that Stryker had completed its acquisition of Vertos Medical Inc., which provides interventional pain management solutions for chronic lower back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis.
October 4
To help streamline its research organization, Relay Therapeutics will lay off around 10% of its workforce, affecting about 30 employees, a company spokesperson told BioSpace in an emailed statement. The spokesperson did not specify when the cuts are effective for the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based clinical-stage precision medicine biotech.
The streamlining process has focused on “rationalizing the tools and on streamlining the teams to enable them to be more efficient,” and its final changes include the layoffs, according to the statement. Fierce Biotech reported that Relay also had layoffs in July that affected less than 5% of employees at the company, which it noted employed about 300 people at that time. Fierce also reported that the streamlining process is meant to save the biotech about $50 million a year.
For more details, visit the article.
October 3
Johnson & Johnson is laying off 231 employees at its New Brunswick, New Jersey, headquarters effective Dec. 27, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The company did not formally announce its layoffs or the reasons for them. However, according to Fierce Pharma, a J&J spokesperson’s emailed statement noted that to continue meeting patient needs worldwide, the organization must adapt and evolve “in the midst of a complex and rapidly changing environment.”
For more details, visit the article.
October 3
Bayer is laying off 57 employees at its Whippany, New Jersey, headquarters effective Dec. 27, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The company did not formally announce the cuts or the reasons for them. However, Fierce Pharma reported that according to a Bayer spokesperson’s statement, the pharma is adopting a new operating model whose organizational structure will “enable more agility, empower employees to innovate and act, deepen the focus on our mission.”
This is not the first time Bayer has let go employees at its Whippany headquarters. According to a May WARN notice, 35 employees were laid off effective Aug. 29. Other notable Bayer layoffs this year include the company cutting its executive team from 14 to eight members in March and eliminating 1,500 jobs, mostly management positions, in May.
For more details, visit the article.
October 3
Pfizer will eliminate up to 210 manufacturing jobs across sites in Grange Castle, Newbridge and Ringaskiddy, Ireland, The Irish Times reported. Some cuts are happening before the end of this year and others in 2025, according to the Times.
Pfizer did not formally announce its cuts or the reasons for them. However, The Irish Times reported that a spokesperson for Pfizer’s Irish business told the newspaper that the company recently launched a multiyear, multiphased program designed to assess manufacturing efficiency and find operational efficiencies “to increase productivity within the network.”
The pharma has been trimming its U.S. workforce as well, with more cuts expected in the future. According to a July WARN notice, the company let go 150 employees from its Sanford, North Carolina, facility and 60 from its Rocky Mount, North Carolina, site, effective July 31. That workforce reduction followed a May 2024 SEC filing where Pfizer detailed plans to cut costs by $1.5 billion by the end of 2027.
For more details, visit the article.
October 3
ImmunityBio will cut 15 employees effective Nov. 25, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices. This brings the total number of employees let go in California this fall to 31.
The affected workers for the most recent layoffs are in Culver City, El Segundo and San Diego, with the majority—10—in El Segundo. These are in addition to the five employees in Culver City and 11 in El Segundo that will be laid off effective Oct. 29, according to an Aug. 30 WARN notice.
While ImmunityBio did not formally announce the new round of cuts or the reasons for them, a recent SEC filing noted the company’s financial challenges. As of June 30, the San Diego–based biotech had an accumulated deficit of $3.2 billion. It also had negative cash flows of $207.3 million during the six months ended June 30.
For more details, visit the article.
October 2
As part of a restructuring that includes discontinuing a clinical program, Shattuck Labs will lay off about 40% of its workforce, the company announced Oct. 1. The biotech expects to complete the layoffs in the fourth quarter but did not disclose which locations the cuts will affect. Shattuck’s corporate office is in Austin, while its R&D office is in Durham, North Carolina.
According to a February SEC filing, Shattuck had 75 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2023, which means the layoffs could affect about 30 people. However, the filing also noted the company might hire in 2024 and beyond.
In its Oct. 1 announcement, Shattuck stated it’s discontinuing its clinical program, SL-172154, and will focus instead on SL-325, its death receptor 3 (DR3) antagonist antibody. Interim clinical data for SL-172154 in combination with azacitidine in TP53 mutant acute myeloid leukemia and higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes did not yield hoped-for results, according to the company.
For more details, visit the article.
September 30
After a business strategy update, vaccine maker Inventprise laid off about 7% of its employees—roughly 14 positions—earlier this month, Fierce Biotech reported. The company has not made a formal announcement regarding the layoffs.
Based in Washington, Inventprise has three manufacturing locations in the state, according to its website: two in Redmond and one in Woodinville. Fierce did not note which locations the layoffs will affect.
Inventprise’s most recent press release dates back to January, when the company announced it had completed vaccination in its Phase II dose ranging study of a 25-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (IVT PCV-25) in young adults.
September 25
As part of a restructuring aimed at reducing cash operating expenses by 20%, bluebird bio will cut about 25% of its workforce, the company announced Sept. 24. The Somerville, Massachusetts–based biotech had 375 full-time employees—including 221 in R&D—as of June 30, according to a Sept. 13 SEC filing.
The news comes a little over a month after a second-quarter 2024 earnings report showed that despite pioneering gene therapies for several diseases, the biotech has had difficulty starting enough patients on its treatments.
In its Sept. 24 announcement, bluebird noted that as part of its restructuring, it will “further sharpen” its focus on the commercial launches of sickle cell disease treatment Lyfgenia, cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy gene therapy Skysona and beta-thalassemia therapy Zynteglo. Year to date, the company said, 41 patients have started treatment across that portfolio.
For more details, visit the article.
September 24
Bristol Myers Squibb’s latest layoffs in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, bring the total number of employees being cut there this year and in 2025 to 1,134, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices. The most recent workforce reduction involves 79 employees who will leave the company between Dec. 12 and May 30.
BMS confirmed to Fierce Pharma that the dismissals are part of its previously announced cuts. In April, the company’s first-quarter 2024 earnings report revealed it would implement a “strategic productivity initiative” to generate about $1.5 billion in cost savings through 2025. The initiative includes eliminating about 2,200 jobs by the end of 2024. According to BMS, it will use the savings to fund innovation, focusing on R&D programs that have the highest potential return on investment and with an eye toward long-term growth.
For more details, visit the article.
September 24
Athira Pharma will lay off about 70% of its workforce as part of cost-containment measures, the company has announced. The clinical-stage biopharma based in Bothell, Washington, expects its cuts of about 49 positions to be mostly complete by Dec. 31, according to an SEC filing. Those being laid off include two C-suite executives, with their terminations effective Oct. 1.
The announcement comes shortly after Athira shared that its investigational injection fosgonimeton failed to significantly boost cognition or function in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease in the Phase II/III LIFT-AD trial.
In its Sept. 17 announcement noting the layoffs, Athira said it will focus on advancing clinical development of ATH-1105 as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
For more details, visit the article.
September 19
AGC Biologics, a Seattle-based contract development and manufacturing organization, will lay off 95 employees—85 in Boulder, Colorado, and 10 in Bothell, Washington—effective Nov. 22, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices. The company did not make a formal announcement regarding the workforce reduction or reasons behind it.
AGC provides pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services for protein-based biologics and cell and gene therapies. The company has more than 2,500 employees globally, according to its website.
September 16
To reduce operating expenses while it considers “strategic alternatives” for its future, Oncternal Therapeutics is laying off about 10 employees, representing roughly 37% of its workforce, according to a Sept. 12 SEC filing. In connection with that reduction, Salim Yazji will be out as chief medical officer, effective Oct. 1. The company expects to mostly complete the layoffs in the third quarter.
Also on Sept. 12, Oncternal announced it’s discontinuing clinical trials for two drugs, ceasing all product development activities and exploring options that could include asset sales as well as a merger, reverse merger or acquisition.
For more details, visit the article.
September 13
Biosense Webster, which is now part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, will lay off 13 employees in California, effective Nov. 21, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. While the company is based in Irvine, the affected employees are in Los Gatos, according to the notice.
On Sept. 9, Johnson & Johnson announced its medical technology businesses, including Biosense, will now go by the name Johnson & Johnson MedTech. Biosense specializes in cardiac arrhythmia treatment.
September 11
Charles River Laboratories, which provides products and services to biopharma companies, is laying off 3% of its workforce, a spokesperson confirmed to BioSpace via email on Sept. 11. The Massachusetts-based company did not answer questions regarding how many employees total are being let go, which locations are affected or the workforce reduction’s effective date. However, according to an SEC filing, the company had about 21,800 employees as of Dec. 30, 2023, so the layoffs could affect around 650 people. According to an Aug. 2 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice, 13 workers in Frederick, Maryland, are being let go effective Sept. 30.
“Charles River continuously evaluates our workforce and business operations to ensure alignment with current industry demand and client needs,” the company said in an emailed statement. “In response to current trends, we are in the process of reducing our workforce by approximately 3% and are streamlining our cost structure to optimize our footprint, be more effective in supporting clients, and drive greater operating efficiencies.”
September 10
Startup biotech Vesigen Therapeutics is laying off staff, Endpoints News reported Sept. 6. Vesigen CEO Paulash Mohsen confirmed the workforce reduction to the publication but did not say how many employees at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, company are affected. He did, however, share that the organization is “evaluating strategic options.”
Vesigen is working to develop a novel, nonviral delivery technology for gene editing, RNA and protein-based therapeutics. In a May announcement, the company noted it had new data supporting the potential of its ARRDC1-mediated microvesicles technology to functionally deliver a variety of payloads, including genome editors, to a broad range of disease-relevant cells and tissues.
September 6
Connect Biopharma, a San Diego–based clinical-stage biopharma company, has laid off about 15% of its China workforce and will have additional cuts, the business announced Sept. 5. The roughly 15% workforce reduction took place over a 12-month period and was complete June 30. Additional layoffs in China are expected by year’s end.
In the announcement, Connect stated the cuts are part of a transition to a U.S.-centric company. It also noted it’s moved the manufacturing process for its lead product candidate, rademikibart, to a U.S.-based contract manufacturer, which will allow it to significantly reduce manufacturing expenses for the rest of 2024 and 2025.
Earlier this year, Connect received favorable feedback from the FDA regarding potential Phase III registrational programs for rademikibart in asthma and atopic dermatitis, according to the announcement. The company noted it’s considering whether to advance rademikibart into a Phase III program or explore other development opportunities for it that could be completed without additional financing.
September 6
BioMarin will lay off 147 employees in California effective Nov. 1, according to an Aug. 28 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. Those employees are likely part of a previously announced workforce reduction of about 225 employees globally, which the company expected to mostly complete by end of this year, according to an SEC filing. Those roughly 225 employees were notified on Aug. 28, according to that filing.
BioMarin also laid off about 170 employees globally in May.
The company has been making other key changes in the past month. In late August, it announced an executive restructuring. On Sept. 4, BioMarin revealed it’s restructuring the company into three key units: skeletal conditions, enzyme therapies and Roctavian.
September 6
Just weeks after an Aug. 8 SEC filing that noted recurring losses, negative operating cash flows and a need for additional capital, IN8bio is laying off nearly half of its workforce. The clinical-stage biopharma company announced the workforce reduction on Sept. 4 as part of a plan to preserve its cash resources, which also includes a pipeline prioritization.
According to a Sept. 4 SEC filing, IN8bio is reducing its workforce from 37 to 19 full-time employees at its New York City and Birmingham, Alabama, sites, effective Sept. 4. In addition, the executive management team and board agreed to an 11% cash compensation cut, effective Sept. 1.
For more details, visit the article.
September 6
Edwards Lifesciences, a medical device company that specializes in structural heart disease, will lay off 3% of its global workforce—about 540 employees—to realign resources and capabilities, MedTech Dive reported. According to a Sept. 3 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice, the organization is cutting 193 employees in California, effective Nov. 8. The California cuts are likely part of the overall workforce reduction.
The layoffs follow Edwards’ sale of its critical care product group to BD ( Becton, Dickinson and Company) for $4.2 billion. The company will use net proceeds to fund strategic initiatives, including previously announced acquisitions and share repurchases, according to a Sept. 3 announcement.
In its article, MedTech Dive noted Edwards experienced “sluggish growth” in its transcatheter aortic valve replacement business in the first half of the year.
September 5
Shortly after an SEC filing reported the company’s financial challenges, ImmunityBio is laying off 16 employees in California (five in Culver City and 11 in El Segundo), according to an Aug. 30 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The biotech’s workforce reduction will be effective Oct. 29.
ImmunityBio is experiencing deficit and cash-flow challenges, according to the filing. As of June 30, the company had an accumulated deficit of $3.2 billion. It also had negative cash flows of $207.3 million during the six months ended June 30.
For more details, visit the article.
September 4
Less than three months after filing for voluntary chapter 11 protection, DermTech is laying off 51 employees in San Diego, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. The layoffs are effective Sept. 6.
According to a June SEC filing, DermTech, which specializes in noninvasive skin genomics technology, laid off 15 employees (20% of its headcount) in the second quarter. That filing noted potential additional workforce reductions could occur in the future.
September 4
Astellas Gene Therapies, an Astellas Pharma business, is closing its San Francisco biomanufacturing facility and cutting at least 17 employees. Seven are being laid off effective Oct. 21, according to an Aug. 27 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice. Ten were let go effective June 19, according to an earlier WARN notice.
An Astellas spokesperson told BioSpace via email that the closure will affect about 100 employees but would not confirm how many are being laid off. The closure is expected to be complete by March 2025, according to the spokesperson. A company statement emailed to BioSpace stated that the facility’s programs and projects are moving to its Sanford, North Carolina, location.
For more details, visit the article.
August 30
About a week after BioMarin rolled out an executive reorganization, the biotech is cutting staff, laying off about 225 employees across its global workforce, according to an SEC filing. Affected employees were notified Aug. 28, and layoffs should be mostly complete by end of this year.
BioMarin also laid off employees in May. Those cuts affected about 170 employees globally and were expected to be mostly complete by the end of July, according to a May SEC filing.
The latest layoffs are connected to BioMarin’s reorganization, according to the most recent filing, as well as to its updated strategy for hemophilia gene therapy Roctavian and the discontinued development of BMN 293, a preclinical gene therapy for a subtype of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
For more details, visit the article.
August 29
Repare Therapeutics is laying off about 25% of its overall workforce, with most cuts coming from its preclinical group, the company announced Aug. 28. Repare stated the workforce reduction is tied to a strategic reprioritization of its R&D activities to focus on advancing its portfolio of clinical-stage oncology programs.
The company expects total nonrecurring cash payments of approximately $1.5 million to $2 million in the third quarter associated with the workforce reduction, according to the announcement. It noted it expects to generate annual savings of approximately $15 million that will extend its cash runway into the second half of 2026.
August 29
Biotech firm Genentech will lay off 93 employees at its South San Francisco headquarters, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice and SFGATE. SFGATE reported that scientist roles will be the hardest hit, although engineers, managers, analysts and one vice president are also being let go. The layoffs are effective Oct. 8, according to the WARN notice.
This is the second round of layoffs at Genentech in 2024. In April, a company representative confirmed to BioSpace it would reduce its workforce by about 3% across multiple departments, with more than 400 jobs estimated to be affected.
The latest layoffs follow news earlier this month that Genentech was closing its cancer immunology group as the company reprioritized investments in cancer research.
For more details, visit the article.
August 27
Bayer is laying off more employees, this time cutting about 150 jobs at its consumer health international headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, Fierce Pharma reported, citing Swiss newspaper NZZ’s article. The layoffs within Bayer’s 1,000-person Basel workforce will mostly affect the consumer health division and the administrative functions that support it and should take effect by 2025, according to Fierce.
Earlier this month, the company released its second-quarter earnings results, where CEO Bill Anderson said the consumer health division had “returned to growth,” with sales increasing 5.3% to $1.59 billion.
The Basel cuts are the latest in Bayer’s 2024 workforce reductions, which include two notable layoffs in the first six months of the year. In March, the company eliminated nearly half of its executive leadership team, going from 14 to eight members. Then in May, it cut 1,500 jobs, mostly management positions.
For more details, visit the article.
August 27
Gene editing startup Tome Biosciences is letting go of 131 employees, nearly all of its headcount, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act notice filed on Friday in Massachusetts. The layoffs will take place from Nov. 1 through Nov. 14.
In a statement to Endpoints News, Tome CEO Rahul Kakkar declined to provide more details regarding the reorganization—including whether a small group will stay on to manage the company as it winds down operations.
Before the restructuring, Tome had over 130 employees, Kakkar told Endpoints.
For more details, visit the article.
August 22
Aadi Bioscience, a precision oncology company, is laying off 80% of its R&D staff as it focuses on preserving cash while maximizing its commercial business, the company announced last Tuesday.
According to a Wednesday SEC filing, Aadi is letting go 22 employees, representing 32% of its total workforce, by the end of the fourth quarter. An SEC filing earlier this month noted that as of June 30, Aadi had 70 full-time employees, including 48 in R&D. It is unclear at this time whether Aadi has already experienced workforce reductions since June, or if the company plans additional layoffs beyond the 22 noted in last week’s filing, to bring the newly announced layoffs to 80% of current R&D staff.
In its announcement, Aadi shared that it’s halting its PRECISION1 trial of nab-sirolimus in patients with solid tumors harboring TSC1- or TSC2-inactivating alterations, as the trial is unlikely to meet the efficacy threshold needed to support an accelerated approval. It will also pause new enrollment in two ongoing Phase 2 trials of nab-sirolimus for advanced or recurrent endometrioid-type endometrial cancer and neuroendocrine tumors.
For more details, visit the article.
August 19
Less than one week after failing to win approval for its MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, Lykos Therapeutics announced it will lay off around 75% of its staff as part of a reorganization. Prior to the cuts, Lykos had about 100 employees, according to STAT News.
On Aug. 9, the FDA issued a complete response letter for midomafetamine (MDMA) capsules, saying Lykos’ new drug application (NDA) could not be approved based on the data submitted to date. The decision followed a June advisory committee meeting in which the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 10-1 against recommending the treatment, saying that its benefits did not outweigh its risks.
The reorganization is intended to streamline the organization around clinical development and regulatory engagement as it prepares to resubmit its NDA for MDMA capsules, according to the Aug. 15 announcement.
August 16
German biotech Evotec will potentially cut 400 roles globally, the company announced Aug. 14. According to an SEC filing, there are more than 5,000 employees at Evotec, which offers pipeline co-creation partnerships and contract research organization/contract development and manufacturing services for drug discovery and development. If the company cuts 400 roles, that would amount to around 8% of its workforce, which includes employees at Evotec’s U.S. headquarters in Princeton, N.J.
In its Wednesday announcement, Evotec reported that total shared R&D revenue for the first six months of 2024 was down 7% year over year. It dropped from 324.8 million euros ($357.6 million) for the first half of 2023 to 302.4 million euros ($332.9 million) for the same period this year.
August 15
Galera Therapeutics will reduce its workforce to three employees on Aug. 31 as it moves toward a planned closure, the company announced Wednesday. According to an SEC filing that same day, Galera’s board approved a liquidation and dissolution plan on Aug. 8 and laid off 22 employees—70% of its workforce—on Aug. 9.
In its announcement, Galera, which focuses on drugs for use in radiotherapy, stated it had stopped all clinical trial activity and development of product candidates as it explored potential strategic alternatives for the business. Now, it will prepare for a stockholder vote on its dissolution plan, expected on or around Oct. 17.
According to Galera’s announcement, as of June 30, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $10.7 million, which it expects will fund operating expenses, including dissolution-related costs, for at least the next 12 months.
August 15
Less than two months after Illumina spun off Grail, the company is laying off about 350 employees, it announced on Tuesday. The reduction represents about 25% of its workforce as of June 30, according to an SEC filing.
Grail, which focuses on cancer diagnostics, is also pulling back on planned 2024 hires, according to the filing. A Grail spokesperson told STAT via email that about 150 open roles were eliminated.
The force reduction is part of a restructuring plan designed to reprioritize resources to focus on the company’s core multicancer early detection business and reduce overall spend as Grail works toward completing registrational studies and its premarket approval application submission for galleri, according to the SEC filing. As a result of its overall cost reductions, Grail expects to extend its existing cash runway from the second half of 2026 into 2028, according to the announcement.
August 14
Viracta Therapeutics is laying off 23% of its employees, the company announced Wednesday in a press release. The clinical-stage precision oncology company previously noted the layoff in a July 29 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, stating the forced reduction would be complete this month. Viracta did not specify how many employees it was laying off, but a May 9 SEC filing noted the company had 40 full-time employees as of March 31, including 30 in R&D.
According to the press release, Viracta has aligned its resources to prioritize its Epstein-Barr virus-positive (EBV+) lymphoma program. The company noted it received positive feedback from a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, giving clarity on a potential regulatory path to initial registration of nana-val in patients with relapsed or refractory EBV+ peripheral T cell lymphoma.
August 14
Ovid Therapeutics has laid off 17 employees, representing 43% of its workforce, according to an Aug. 13 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The biopharma company noted that it initiated the forced reduction as part of an organizational restructuring that will help it extend its cash runway.
In an Aug. 13 press release, Ovid, which focuses on rare epilepsies and brain conditions, stated it expects that cash runway to support operations and clinical development well into the first half of 2026.
According to the SEC filing, the layoff followed Takeda’s report of Phase 3 topline study results for soticlestat, which Takeda licenses from Ovid. Soticlestat failed to hit the primary efficacy endpoints in the SKYLINE study in Dravet syndrome and the SKYWAY trial in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
August 14
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will lay off about half of its field force—more than 75 people—by the end of the third quarter, the company announced Aug. 13.
The biopharma business noted that after strategically reviewing its commercial and pipeline programs, it will refocus resources across its portfolio. Lexicon will optimize promotional efforts for sotagliflozin in heart failure and reallocate resources to support the drug’s potential commercial launch for adults with type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The company expects these efforts to result in approximately $40 million in cost savings for 2025 while ensuring all R&D programs are fully funded.
August 14
Acelyrin will lay off about 40 employees, representing 33% of its workforce, according to an Aug. 13 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company expects to complete most layoffs by the end of the year. In addition, Chief Operating Officer Melanie Gloria will step down from her position effective Oct. 31.
Acelyrin, a late-stage clinical biopharma company, also noted in the filing that it’s suspending new internal investment in developing izokibep, a small therapeutic protein inhibitor of interleukin-17A, in hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. Moving forward, the business will primarily focus on its lonigutamab clinical program in thyroid eye disease.
August 14
Boundless Bio announced “a modest reduction in workforce” in an Aug. 12 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The clinical-stage oncology company did not state how many employees were let go. However, a May 13 SEC filing stated the company had 72 full-time employees as of May 6.
Boundless Bio develops novel drugs targeting extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA). In its more recent filing, the company announced its intention to scale back early discovery efforts, including by reducing its workforce, to extend its operating runway. Boundless noted that based on current operating plans, it believes its existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $179.3 million as of June 30 are sufficient to fund the company into the fourth quarter of 2026.
The forced reduction comes about five months after Boundless announced plans to go public. According to the Aug. 12 filing, the initial public offering resulted in net proceeds of approximately $87.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commission and other offering expenses.
August 13
As part of its previously announced elimination of 75% of its U.S.-based workforce, FibroGen will lay off 127 people at its San Francisco location, according to an Aug. 7 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on novel drugs for cancer, notified employees on Aug. 2.
According to the SEC filing, FibroGen expects to complete most headcount reductions by the end of the first quarter of 2025. The company is estimating it will incur nonrecurring charges of $16 million to $18 million in connection with its overall plan to reduce operating expenses, primarily in the form of severance payments, notice pay, accrued vacation, payroll tax and employee benefits contributions.
The force reduction is a result of two late-stage trials failing to meet the primary endpoint of overall survival, according to FibroGen’s July 31 announcement: a Phase II/III trial investigating the company’s experimental drug pamrevlumab in combination with gemcitabine in the first and second line in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) patients and a separate Phase III trial that assessed pamrevlumab combined with gemcitabine or folfirinox to treat pancreatic cancer. The announcement also noted the company is implementing an “immediate and significant” cost reduction plan to terminate the pamrevlumab program and halt any obligations to the drug.
August 12
Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, a contract development and manufacturing organization, will lay off 71 employees effective Sept. 30, according to an Aug. 1 WARN notice. That number represents 13% of the company’s U.S. workforce, according to Fierce Pharma.
Fierce noted that according to a memo it viewed, affected employees should receive severance packages. It also reported that the layoff round is part of a larger plan to consolidate Ajinomoto’s drug substance production at the Columbus, Ohio, plant the CDMO received in its $620 million buyout of Forge Biologics in 2023.
August 12
AN2 Therapeutics, a biopharma company focused on novel small molecule drugs, will lay off about 50% of its employees, according to an Aug. 7 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. An earlier SEC filing stated that as of Feb. 29, the company had 41 full-time employees in disciplines including clinical operations, clinical development, research, manufacturing, regulatory and quality.
In the most recent filing, AN2 noted the reduction in force should be mostly complete by the end of 2024 and will include the Aug. 30 departure of Paul Eckburg, the company’s chief medical officer. Eckburg will provide consulting services to the company for up to one year after that date.
According to the SEC filing, the force reduction is connected to AN2’s planned focus shift following discontinuation of its EBO-301 study, which evaluated epetraborole in treatment-refractory MAC lung disease. The layoff is also intended to further extend the company’s operating capital. An Aug. 8 press release stated AN2 plans to accelerate its R&D efforts on its boron chemistry platform.
August 8
Entero Therapeutics, a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, will lay off all nonessential employees and terminate the employment of CEO James Sapirstein and President Jack Syage, although Sapirstein will stay on as a consultant, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In early June, Sapirstein told Endpoints News the company had 16 staffers and six full-time consultants.
Entero rebranded in May, when it changed its name from First Wave BioPharma to Entero Therapeutics. The company had recently merged with ImmunogenX. On Aug. 2, according to the SEC filing, ImmunogenX received a notice of default demanding immediate payment on all obligations, which total about $7 million.
According to the filing, Entero will vacate its Boca Raton, Florida, office; is pausing nonessential R&D activities; and is exploring ways to maximize value for company stakeholders including, but not limited to, raising capital and restructuring debt.
August 7
Gene and cell therapy company Precigen will lay off more than 20% of its staff, it announced on Tuesday. “These strategic changes substantially reduce required resources for non-priority programs and will enable the Company to focus on pre-commercialization efforts on PRGN-2012,” its gene therapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, according to the announcement. Precigen had approximately 190 employees as of the end of 2022.
August 6
Sumitomo Pharma America is laying off 53 people in Marlborough, Mass., according to an August 1 WARN notice. The company, whose head U.S. office is in Cambridge, had already disclosed 400 U.S. layoffs in March of this year.
August 6
As it carries out a plan announced in the spring to lay off 2,200 employees this year, Bristol Myers Squibb is letting go of 117 of its staff in Lawrenceville, NJ, the company disclosed in a July WARN notice. The latest round follows other Lawrenceville layoffs in March and May of this year.
August 2
Gene therapy company uniQure is laying off 65% of its employees, a total of 300 people, including Chief Operating Officer Pierre Caloz, the company announced Thursday. The move came a month after uniQure revealed that it had agreed to sell its Lexington, Mass. manufacturing facility to Genezen; uniQure attributed the departure of Caloz and some other employees to the sale.
“[W]e’ve taken targeted measures to substantially reduce operating expenses, streamline operations, and extend cash runway,” said uniQure CEO Matt Kapusta in the announcement. “These actions are designed to ensure we have the funding required to achieve key milestones and drive shareholder value, as we endeavor to deliver transformative medicines to patients in need.”
August 2
Vir Biotechnology will lay off 25% of its workforce, eliminating approximately 140 roles across its operations, the company announced on Thursday. The reduction is part of a major shift in its research and development priorities in which the biotech will abandon its work on COVID-19 and influenza, as well as its T-cell-based viral vector platform, instead focusing on its hepatitis B and D programs and moving into the cancer space via a deal with Sanofi.
August 1
Arbutus Biopharma will lay off 40% of its staff in order to focus resources on its Phase II treatment for chronic hepatitis B infection, the company announced as part of its Q2 financial results on Thursday. “[W]e have made the difficult decision to discontinue our HBV research efforts and reduce our headcount leading to a projected cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2026,” Arbutus Interim President and CEO Michael J. McElhaugh said in the announcement.
The British Columbia–based Arbutus had 73 full-time employees as of the end of 2023, according to an SEC filing.
August 1
Boston-based HilleVax is laying off 41 employees, about 40% of its workforce, the company announced Wednesday. In its announcement, the company said the reduction “is intended to preserve cash while maintaining core capabilities as the company explores the potential for continued development” of its vaccine candidates.
HilleVax was spun out of Takeda in 2021 in order to continue development of its norovirus vaccine.
August 1
Bayer will lay off a further 70 people at its Whippany, NJ headquarters, the company revealed in a July WARN notice. The reductions will be effective at the end of October. “We are adopting a new operating model and with it, a new organizational structure,” a company spokesperson stated in an email to Fierce Pharma.
In May, Bayer announced that it had already reduced its headcount by about 1,500 in 2024, mainly by eliminating management positions. The company was surpassed only by Bristol Myers Squibb for the most layoffs in biopharma in the first five months of this year.
July
July 31
FibroGen will eliminate 75% of its U.S.-based workforce after two late-stage trials failed to meet the primary endpoint of overall survival, the company announced Wednesday. FibroGen has 475 employees globally, according to its website.
A Phase II/III trial investigated FibroGen’s experimental drug pamrevlumab in combination with gemcitabine in the first and second line in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) patients, while a separate Phase III trial assessed pamrevlumab combined with gemcitabine or Folfirinox to treat pancreatic cancer.
The company is implementing an “immediate and significant” cost reduction plan to terminate the pamrevlumab program, halt any obligations to the drug, and reduce its headcount, according to the press release. FibroGen previously cut 104 employees last year after another phase III failure, according to Fierce Biotech.
July 30
Pfizer will lay off 150 employees from its facility in Sanford, NC, and 60 from its site in Rocky Mount, NC, the pharma giant disclosed in a WARN notice last week. While the WARN notice lists the layoffs as closures, the two sites will in fact remain open, a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma. The Sanford site is involved in gene therapy programs, while the Rocky Mount facility makes sterile injectables, Fierce reports.
After a downturn in sales of its COVID products, Pfizer announced a $3.5 billion cost-cutting initiative last October, and has since implemented several rounds of layoffs. In May of this year, the company disclosed plans to cut a further $1.5 billion in costs over the next several years.
July 29
Boston-based Cue Biopharma announced on Thursday a shift in priorities that will entail laying off a quarter of its staff. The company will focus resources on its autoimmune program while seeking partners to continue development of its oncology candidates, Cue CEO Daniel Passeri said in the announcement. The realignment will extend Cue’s cash runway into mid-2025, the company said.
As of the day before the announcement, Cue had about 50 employees, Passeri told Endpoints News.
July 26
Anokion, a Switzerland- and Massachusetts-based company focused on autoimmune disease, will lay off an undisclosed number of staff, a spokesperson told Fierce Biotech. The company plans to focus resources on its lead candidate, a drug for celiac disease that is currently in Phase II.
July 26
Following a meeting with the FDA and the determination that its candidate for relapsed and refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) will require an additional clinical trial, GlycoMimetics will lay off approximately 80% of its staff. The company will also undergo a strategic review on how best to move forward, it said in a Thursday announcement. The Rockville, MD–based company was notified by the Nasdaq in June that its stock price has dropped below the $1/share needed to qualify for listing on the stock market, it revealed in an SEC filing on Friday. As of the end of 2023, GlycoMimetics had 35 full-time employees.
July 26
Cambridge, Mass.–based Relay Therapeutics has laid off less than 5% of its 300-person workforce, a spokesperson told Fierce Biotech. The company, which focuses on precision oncology and genetic disease, saw the termination earlier this month of an agreement with Genentech around development and commercialization of a small molecule cancer drug. But the spokesperson told Fierce the layoff was unrelated to the dissolution of that deal.
July 24
Merck let go some 75 to 80 people this week, STAT reported Wednesday. The layoffs, which came across multiple groups, affected the company’s early research division, according to the publication.
July 22
Rapt Therapeutics will “reduce its workforce by 47 people, or approximately 40% of the Company’s existing headcount” in order to conserve cash resources, the company revealed in an SEC filing dated July 19. The South San Francisco–based biotech suffered a setback in February when the FDA placed a hold on two Phase II trials of its candidate zelnecirnon after a case of liver failure. In addition to zelnecirnon, which is being developed for asthma and atopic dermatitis, Rapt has a second clinical-stage candidate, tivumecirnon, in trials for cancer.
July 18
Aslan Pharmaceuticals is liquidating its assets and has terminated all of its employees, the Singapore-based biopharma announced Wednesday. Its directors had determined “that ASLAN SG cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business,” according to the announcement. The company also said it had received a delisting determination from the Nasdaq on July 15 “due to its failure to meet continued listing requirements,” and that it elected not to request a hearing about the determination.
According to an SEC filing, as of the end of 2023 Aslan had 20 employees in Singapore, 14 in the U.S. and one in the U.K.
July 16
Caribou Biosciences has parted with 21 people—12% of its workforce—as it discontinues preclinical development of allogeneic CAR-NK therapies, the company reported to the SEC on Tuesday. The filing added that the layoffs will be completed by the end of the third quarter and that its cash runway will be extended into the second half of 2026 as it focuses resources on its allogeneic (or off-the-shelf) CAR T cell therapy platform.
July 12
Roche’s Spark Therapeutics is laying off staffers and halting some of its early-stage programs, Endpoints News reported Thursday. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia-based gene therapy biotech told the publication that the company is pivoting its strategy to “accelerate its pipeline and help bring more therapies to patients sooner, but this move will include ‘organizational changes.’” Notifications about employment were sent out this week, although no indication was given of how many people would be let go.
Spark has two late-stage trials in hemophilia A and hemophilia B in its pipeline and an early-stage asset for treating Pompe disease. The biotech has around 800 employees and was purchased by the Swiss pharma in 2019 for approximately $4.8 billion.
July 11
Swiss pharma Novartis has let go of 29 employees in San Diego and will eliminate approximately 100 more jobs as it winds down its development site there, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday. A company spokesperson told the outlet in an email that “a set of changes to build future capabilities and access global talent pools will be implemented over the next 2 to 3 years, with parallel build-up and reduction of roles in certain locations.”
In April, Reuters reported that Novartis was planning to cut hundreds of development jobs worldwide, including 240 in the U.S.
Correction (July his entry has been updated to state that the site affected is a development site, not a research site. BioSpace regrets the error.
July 11
Virginia-based Indivior will cease sales and marketing of its schizophrenia drug Perseris and lay off approximately 130 sales staff, the company announced Tuesday. The company, which focuses on treatments for mental illness and substance use disorder, ascribed its decision to “the highly competitive market and impending changes that are expected to intensify payor management in the treatment category in which PERSERIS participates.”
July 3
Oncology biopharma Apollomics is letting go of two members of its leadership team as well as an unspecified number of staff, the company announced Tuesday. “As a result of the updated strategic focus, and aligned with the Company’s resource needs going forward, Sanjeev Redkar, Ph.D., Company co-founder and President, and Peony Yu, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, are expected to transition to consulting roles in August,” the announcement stated, also noting the departure of “other employees.” The reductions are linked to the company’s narrowing of the target patient population for its candidate vebreltinib, currently in a Phase II clinical trial for certain tumors.
July 3
CureVac will reduce its workforce by 30% as it restructures its mRNA collaboration with GSK, the German company announced Tuesday. The two companies began collaborating on mRNA vaccines in 2020 and have candidates for seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and avian influenza in the pipeline. Under the new agreement, GSK “will assume full control of developing and manufacturing these candidate vaccines,” according to the announcement.
Meanwhile, CureVac said its reduction in force will “create a leaner, more agile organization re-focused on technology innovation, research and development” and extend its cash runway into 2028. The company employed 1,172 worldwide as of the end of 2023, according to an SEC filing, and had already shed about 150 employees through a “voluntary leaver” program in April.
July 2
Takeda will lay off a further 220 employees in Massachusetts, the company disclosed in a June 27 WARN notice. Of those, 189 people will be let go from a location in Cambridge, and 31 are being laid off in Lexington. In total, Takeda has now laid off or announced plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees so far in 2024, on top of staffing cuts it made in 2023.
A Takeda spokesperson told Endpoints in an emailed statement the company is prioritizing “increasing organizational agility, improving procurement savings, and strengthening how we leverage data, digital and technology across Takeda. . . . As we continue to work to bring these initiatives to fruition, difficult choices will also be required, and some employees will be impacted as a result.”
July 1
Waltham, Massachusetts–based Aerovate Therapeutics will lay off “nearly all of its workforce” in the coming months following the Phase IIb failure of its candidate for pulmonary arterial hypertension, the company disclosed to the SEC on June 25. Aerovate added that it has already notified 39 people—78% of its workforce—of their terminations.
July 1
Swiss biotech GeNeuro is laying off all but two of its staff members in the wake of the Phase II failure of its candidate for long COVID, the company announced Friday. GeNeuro “has made redundant 7 of its 9 employment agreements, including all of the Executive Management,” the announcement said. “All employees and managers will work through their notice periods, of up to 6 months, to execute the strategy that will be defined by the Board over the coming days.”
June
June 27
EuroAPI, a spinoff of Sanofi, will lay off approximately 550 people by 2027, the company announced Wednesday. The cuts are part of a multi-year restructuring plan that EuroAPI first made public when it unveiled its 2023 results, though few details were given at the time. According to the Wednesday announcement, the manufacturer will sell plants in Haverhill, UK, and Brindisi, Italy, leaving it with four remaining production sites. EuroAPI will also discontinue manufacturing 13 pharmaceutical ingredients.
June 25
California-based eFFECTOR Therapeutics has parted ways with its staff and will wind down operations and ask to be delisted from the NASDAQ, the company announced Monday. eFFECTOR, which was founded in 2012, reported disappointing results in April from a Phase IIb trial of its candidate for non-small cell lung cancer. But in its Q1 update, the company stated it was continuing to make progress with another anticancer candidate, zotatifin, and that its cash runway extended into the first quarter of 2025.
According to an SEC filing, eFFECTOR had 14 employees as of February 29 of this year.
June 25
Xellia Pharmaceuticals will lay off 247 employees in the U.S., most of them in Bedford, Ohio, according to a June 17 WARN notice reported by Fierce Pharma. The move by Copenhagen-based Xellia comes after the company announced the sale of its Bedford plant to generic drugmaker Hikma, Fierce notes.
June 24
G1 Therapeutics announced on Monday that it intends to make a “targeted headcount reduction” to streamline the company, but did not provide specific numbers. The layoff was disclosed as part of an announcement of results regarding G1’s drug Cosela (trilaciclib), which failed to show a statistically significant treatment effect in a Phase III trial in triple-negative breast cancer patients; the company said it will “wind down” the trial. G1 also stated that it expects its streamlining efforts to provide the company with enough of a cash runway to achieve profitability in the second half of 2025.
June 21
Ginkgo Bioworks, which announced last month that it will cut labor costs by up to 25%, has now notified the state that it plans 158 layoffs, the Boston Globe reported. A Ginkgo spokesperson told the outlet that the Boston-based company will disclose more layoffs next week, but would not say how many.
June 20
Cara Therapeutics will lay off 70% of its staff by the end of this month, the company disclosed in an SEC filing dated June 14. Just two days earlier, the biopharma firm made public the discontinuation of its candidate treatment for moderate-to-severe pruritus in notalgia paresthetica after a failed Phase 2/3 trial. The latest layoffs follow Cara’s January announcement of a workforce reduction of up to 50%. According to its LinkedIn profile, the Stamford, CT–based company has between 51–200 employees.
June 13
In what it is calling a “pipeline prioritization,” Barinthus Biotherapeutics will cut approximately 25% of its workforce, the Oxford, U.K.–based company said in a Wednesday press release. Barinthus is throwing its resources behind programs in chronic hepatitis B and celiac disease, deprioritizing a prostate cancer candidate. The company recently presented positive interim data from two ongoing Phase II trials of its hepatitis B candidate, VTP-300, at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress.
Barinthus, which is developing novel T cell immunotherapeutic candidates, has between 51 and 200 employees, according to LinkedIn.
June 12
Agilent Technologies, Inc. will lay off nearly 200 California employees effective August 9, according to a WARN notice. The cuts include 156 employees at the CDMO’s Santa Clara headquarters, seven in Santa Barbara County, 17 in San Diego County and four in Folsom. Company spokesperson Sarah Litton told SFGATE that the cuts are part of a 3% layoff “across operations and regions” and that with them, Agilent is aiming to “adjust to the pace of recovery in the market.”
Agilent reported a 5.6% decline in revenue for Q1 of this year compared to the same period last year. Prior to that, it had reported 36 California layoffs in late 2023 that became effective in January 2024.
June 6
Bristol Myers Squibb will lay off 863 employees in Lawrenceville, New Jersey over the remaining months of 2024, according to a WARN notice reported by Fierce Pharma. The pharma giant announced in April that it would implement a sweeping “strategic productivity initiative” in a bid to generate approximately $1.5 billion in cost savings through 2025, including eliminating around 2,200 jobs by the end of this year. The new disclosure of New Jersey layoffs follows a March WARN notice of 75 jobs cut in Lawrenceville.
May
May 28
Takeda will undergo more layoffs, with 641 workers in Massachusetts set to get the ax, according to Endpoints News. A company spokesperson told Endpoints that the bulk of the layoffs will be in Cambridge, with 495, while 146 positions will also be eliminated in Lexington. Layoffs will begin in July and continue until March 2025. Takeda announced that it is undertaking a restructuring of over $900 million and has already committed to closing an R&D facility in San Diego, which employs more than 300 people. The Japanese pharma currently employs 36,893 people, according to LinkedIn, of which more than 18,000 are in the U.S.
May 22
Germany-based Evotec is closing a gene therapy–focused site in Austria, affecting 40 staff members, the company announced Wednesday. The move marks Evotec’s exit from the gene therapy space, which it had entered in April 2020, Endpoints News noted.
May 22
Lyra Therapeutics is laying off 87 employees—75% of its workforce—following disappointing Phase III results for its implant to treat chronic rhinosinusitis, the company said Tuesday. Its announcement added that Lyra “has stopped manufacturing and commercialization efforts and seeks to sublease its facilities to significantly reduce the Company’s operating costs.” The Massachusetts-based biotech said that the cuts extend its cash runway into 2026.
May 22
Takeda is shuttering an R&D hub in San Diego that employs 324 people, according to a May 9 WARN notice. The layoffs, part of a broader restructuring by the global company, will take effect in July. The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that some of the affected employees will be offered jobs at Takeda’s offices in Massachusetts. It added that the San Diego facility concentrated on gastroenterology, inflammation and neuroscience.
May 21
Citing “efficiency gains,” Exscientia is laying off 20–25% of its workforce, the company announced Tuesday. Based in the U.K., Exscientia was founded in 2012 on the promise of using AI to automate drug discovery and design. According to its most recent annual report, it had an “average headcount” of 501 employees in 2023. Tuesday’s announcement said the reduction in force will extend Exscientia’s cash runway into 2027.
May 20
Industry lobbying group Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has kicked off a restructuring initiative that will see the termination of 30 employees, according to exclusive reporting by STAT News.
Citing four sources, STAT noted that the layoffs will affect senior leaders at BIO including CSO Cartier Esham, Chief Policy Officer John Murphy and Chief Public Affairs and Marketing Officer Rich Masters, who confirmed to the publication that he would be leaving the group.
May 17
San Diego–based Erasca will reduce its headcount by about 18% as it drops several pipeline programs, the oncology company announced Friday. Concurrently, it is licensing two candidates from Chinese companies for development in the U.S. and other markets.
As of the end of February, Erasca had 126 full-time employees.
May 14
BioMarin Pharmaceutical is laying off approximately 170 employees globally, the company said in an SEC filing. According to the filing, most affected employees were informed on May 14, and the layoffs will be completed by the end of July. Endpoints News notes that the move comes on the heels of BioMarin’s announcement last month that it will cut several of its pipeline programs.
May 14
Redwood City, California–based Bolt Biotherapeutics is discontinuing development of its lead oncology asset and laying off approximately 50% of its workforce, the company announced Tuesday. Bolt had 100 full-time employees as of the end of 2023. Among those to find new positions is Bolt CEO Randall Schatzman, who will now assume an advisory role and be replaced by former Chief Financial Officer Willie Quinn.
According to the company, the cuts will extend Bolt’s cash runway into the second half of 2026 as it prioritizes development of candidates that include an antibody targeting tumor-associated macrophages that is currently in Phase I trials.
May 14
Tenaya Therapeutics will lay off approximately 22% of its staff, the South San Francisco–based biotech announced Tuesday as it released its first-quarter financial results. The company said it has enough funds to last into the second half of 2025 as it continues development of therapies for several heart conditions. As of the end of 2023, the company had 140 employees.
May 14
WuXi AppTec will reduce its headcount at a site in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a company spokesperson told Endpoints News in an email. The number of workers affected was not specified, but the spokesperson described it as a “small percentage,” attributing the cuts to “a shift in market conditions over the past 18 months.”
China-based WuXi is named in the BIOSECURE Act, which would force U.S. biopharma companies to cut ties with Chinese biotechs by 2023. The bill will be the subject of a vote Wednesday by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
May 14
Bayer announced on Tuesday that it has reduced its headcount by approximately 1,500 jobs, mostly management positions in its pharmaceuticals, crop science and consumer health divisions. The announcement came as part of the company’s first-quarter earnings report, in which it cited a 4.3% dip in sales compared with the same period last year.
“Approximately two-thirds of these were management jobs,” CEO Bill Anderson said of the workforce reductions in a media call.
“Our senior leadership circle is already considerably smaller than it was a year ago,” Anderson noted, adding that the layoffs will help the company hit its target of “€500 million ($540 million) of sustainable cost savings in 2024 and €2 billion ($2.16 billion) in 2026.”
May 9
Ginkgo Bioworks will cut spending following disappointing first-quarter financial results, including reducing labor expenses by at least 25%, the company announced Thursday. Ginkgo, a Boston-based company that focuses on cell engineering and biosecurity, saw its total revenue fall from $81 million in the first quarter of 2023 to $38 million in the most recent quarter. Its stock price fell 17% on the news, Endpoints News reported.
On a Thursday investor call, Ginkgo CEO Jason Kelly said the company had not yet determined the exact number of layoffs, Endpoints reported. According to an SEC filing, Ginkgo had 1,218 employees as of the end of 2023.
May 8
Radnor, Penn.–based Marinus Pharmaceuticals will part ways with approximately 20% of its staff and implement other cost-saving measures in order to extend its cash runway late into the first quarter of 2025, the company announced in a Q1 financial report.
The cuts come after disappointing results from the Phase III RAISE trial, which evaluated ganaxolone in refractory status epilepticus, according to the Silicon Valley Journals. The trial did not meet the pre-defined stopping criteria at the interim analysis.
May 7
Kenvue, which spun off from Johnson & Johnson last year and manufactures consumer products such as Tylenol and Band-Aids, will reduce its global workforce by about 4%, the company announced Tuesday. Fierce Biopharma reports that the company had about 23,000 employees at the end of 2023.
The reduction announcement, made as part of Kenvue’s Q1 financial results, comes as its transition service agreement with Johnson & Johnson winds down. The company said it expects to save about $350 million annually as a result of the cuts.
May 1
Emergent BioSolutions announced it would cut its current workforce by 300 and eliminate 85 vacant positions as it seeks to reduce annual expenses by $80 million. The Narcan maker said it will close manufacturing sites in Baltimore and Rockville, Md., as it “actively explores strategic alternatives” for other facilities.
April
April 26
As part of Bristol Myers Squibb’s plan to trim 2,200 jobs this year under a $1.5 billion cost-savings initiative, the company is shuttering its Cancer Immunology & Cell Therapy Thematic Research Center in Redwood City, Calif., the San Francisco Business Times reported. The publication did not indicate how many people are being let go from that location, but said that those who survive the layoffs will be shifted to a BMS facility in Brisbane, Calif.
April 25
Bristol Myers Squibb will eliminate 2,200 jobs by the end of 2024 as part of a sweeping, company-wide effort to reduce costs by $1.5 billion, BMS announced in its first-quarter 2024 earnings report. The company is looking to optimize its operations by reducing management layers, among other cost-cutting measures, according to its investor presentation. The firm will also prioritize the development of its key growth brands and minimize third-party expenditures.
April 24
CureVac will eliminate as many as 150 jobs this year as part of a “voluntary leaver” program, the company said in announcing its 2023 financial results. The German-American mRNA-focused biopharma firm said it is reprioritizing its pipeline while leaning into innovation and R&D.
April 23
Tessera Therapeutics is trimming 13%–14% of its current staff, amounting to “less than 50” current employees, according to Endpoints News. The cuts come as the startup reportedly tries to advance several of its genomically engineered candidates to clinical stage. Tessera will present preclinical data on several of its assets at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting next month.
April 23
BenevolentAI is closing its U.S. office and cutting approximately 30% of its current workforce as its seeks to slow its cash burn. The British company expects to have about 180 employees by the end of 2024 as its refocuses on artificial intelligence–driven drug discovery in collaboration with larger partners including Merck KGaA. BenevolentAI also made deep staff cuts a year ago.
April 22
Bristol Myers Squibb has initiated the first round of a series of job cuts in Lawrenceville, N.J., BioSpace reported. A WARN notice filed in March in New Jersey indicated that 75 people would lose their jobs in at various intervals between now and early December.
April 22
Pfizer will close down a research facility in Colorado by the end of Q2, costing an undisclosed number of jobs, Endpoints News reported. The site, which mostly investigates small molecules for oncology, has been a Pfizer property since the company acquired Array BioPharma in 2019. The Big Pharma firm has made a strategic decision to shift investment from small molecules to biologics in response to the so-called “pill penalty” in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Correction (May 31): This entry originally stated that the closed facility was in Colorado Springs, but it was in fact in Boulder. BioSpace regrets the error.
April 19
Sanofi has extended its layoffs to its Belgian operations by cutting 99 jobs at two sites, Fierce Biotech reported, citing Belgian Newspaper De Tijd. The French firm has already cut loose 67 people at the former Ablynx site in Ghent and plans to eliminate another 32 more at its head Belgium office in Diegem. Most of the Ghent cuts are early-stage research jobs, including in oncology.
April 18
Sanofi will cut an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a restructuring of its U.S. vaccines division. This round of layoffs follows last week’s news that the company would divest Amunix Pharmaceuticals, resulting in the elimination of 100 jobs from a San Francisco site on June 3.
April 16
Vedanta Biosciences CEO Bernat Olle posted on LinkedIn that the company will eliminate 12 positions from its chemistry, manufacturing and controls team. According to Olle, “We are coming off a peak of manufacturing campaigns that supplied several mid and late-stage clinical studies in our pipeline.”
April 16
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies may eliminate as many as 240 jobs at sites in Texas, North Carolina, Massachusetts and in the U.K. as part of a restructuring of its Small Scale Business Unit. The company said that the business unit has been “directly impacted by the short-term challenge of reduced venture capital investment in early-stage research projects,” notably in cell and gene therapies.
April 11
Genentech will reduce its workforce by about 3% across multiple departments, a company representative confirmed in an email to BioSpace. According to Genentech’s website, the firm has about 13,500 employees, suggesting that there will be about 405 cuts. The spokesperson said that there will be no net workforce reductions at parent company Roche.
April 10
Sanofi will eliminate 100 jobs on June 3 from a San Francisco site as part of a planned divestiture of Amunix Pharmaceuticals, an immuno-oncology company it bought for $1 billion in 2021, according to a WARN notice first reported by Endpoints News.
The cuts follow news from April 4 that Sanofi will cut an unspecified number of jobs as part of a “full pipeline reprioritization” effort, R&D chief Houman Ashrafian told staff in an email obtained by Fierce Biotech. The French pharma giant is shifting its R&D toward immunology, as evidenced by its pending $2.2 billion acquisition of Inhibrx.
April 9
Novartis is continuing its deep workforce cuts by announcing plans to eliminate about 680 jobs in product development over the next two to three years, with about 440 of those currently based in Switzerland and the other 240 in the U.S., according to Reuters. Many of those jobs will be shifted to other “established hubs” over the next two years, a Novartis spokesperson told BioSpace, resulting in a net reduction of 1% to 2% in the company’s global development workforce, which now stands at about 12,500. Reuters reported that the new downsizing is separate from a two-year-old restructuring program that could ultimately cost as many as 8,000 people their jobs.
Correction (April 10): This story has been updated from its original version to reflect the proper percentage of jobs that are being cut, BioSpace regrets the error.
April 4
Citing slow uptake of its Humira biosimilar Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm), Boehringer Ingelheim is cutting its customer-facing salesforce. While the company did not disclose the number of layoffs, Stat News reported that about 70 employees are losing their jobs, citing an anonymous source.
April 4
As a result of its decision to pull ALS drug Relyvrio from the U.S. and Canadian markets following a Phase III trial failure, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals will downsize its workforce by about 70%. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had 384 employees at the end of 2023.
April 3
Thermo Fisher Scientific will eliminate 74 jobs at its plasmid DNA manufacturing site in Carlsbad, Calif., starting May 31, Fierce Pharma reported. The facility opened less than three years ago.
April 1
Carisma Therapeutics disclosed in its Q4 financial release that will cut its workforce by 37% in Q2 as part of a restructuring that will shut down development of its former lead candidate, CT-0508, a targeted CAR-M for treatment of advanced and metastatic cancers with overexpressed HER2. Though a Phase I trial of CT-0508 met its primary endpoints, Carisma will prioritize CT-0525, a CAR-monocyte, for development of an anti-HER2 therapy.
March
March 28
Omega Therapeutics said in its Q4 financial release that it has cut approximately 35% of its workforce following a strategic review of its business. The company will prioritize its preclinical programs, including OTX-2101 for non-small cell lung cancer, an HNF4A agent for fibrotic liver disease and a partnership with Novo Nordisk to develop an epigenomic controller to target obesity. Omega disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had 93 full-time employees at the end of 2023.
March 28
Xilio Therapeutics announced it is cutting 15 jobs, or about 21% of its current workforce as part of a “strategic portfolio reprioritization.” The layoffs coincide with a $113 million private placement as well as a deal for Gilead Sciences to license Xilio’s XTX301, a tumor-activated IL-12 and XTX101, a tumor-activated, Fc-enhanced CTLA-4 inhibitor, for $43.5 million upfront and future contingent payments of as much as $604 million.
March 27
Bayer revealed in a WARN notice that it will lay off 90 workers at its U.S. headquarters in Whippany, N.J., effective June 19, Fierce Pharma reported. The move comes just a week after Bayer cut several top executives their jobs as part of a reorganization announced in January.
March 26
Bristol Myers Squibb disclosed in a WARN notice in California that it is letting go 252 workers at the former Mirati Therapeutics headquarters in San Diego, effective April 22. Fierce Pharma first reported the notice. BMS completed its $4.8 billion acquisition of Mirati Jan. 23.
March 22
Theratechnologies is eliminating an unspecified number of jobs as it phases out preclinical oncology research activities in favor of an in-progress Phase I trial of its peptide-drug conjugate sudocetaxel zendusortide (TH1902) for advanced ovarian cancer. The company said that it will absorb $625,000 in cash charges to cover severance and related expenses, as well as $770,000 in non-cash charges as part of the restructuring. Last month, the FDA refused to review Theratechnologies’ supplemental Biologics License Application for a new formulation of the HIV therapy Trogarzo.
March 21
GSK will be cutting loose the majority of its former Bellus Health employees on March 31, according to a LinkedIn post from ex-Bellus CEO Roberto Bellini. GSK bought Bellus a year ago for $2 billion, largely to acquire the latter’s Phase III candidate camlipixant, a P2X3 receptor antagonist proposed to treat chronic cough. In December, competitor Merck for the second time failed to gain FDA approval for its own P2X3 candidate, gefapixant.
March 21
NextCure disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is cutting its workforce to 51 full-time employees from the current 81, a reduction of 37%. To save cash, the company will focus on its NC410 candidate combination therapy for ovarian and colorectal cancers and LNCB74, an ADC that targets B7-H4 and is being developed in collaboration with LegoChem Biosciences. NextCure will pause development of its other assets as the company seeks partners or buyers to advance them.
March 21
Catalent will lay off 130 workers at one of its manufacturing sites in Bloomington, Ind. According to The Herald-Times, the manufacturer said it will cut jobs to “increase efficiencies” and “lower costs” but provided no details on what positions will be axed or further explanations on the move. This is not the first time Catalent has undertaken layoffs at its Bloomington facility, as the CDMO laid off hundreds of employees in 2022 and 2023. Just last month, Novo Nordisk agreed to acquire Catalent for $16.5 billion, and the Bloomington facility will soon be sold to Novo Nordisk to boost GLP-1 manufacturing capabilities.
March 20
Bayer has trimmed its executive team to eight people, down from 14, as part of a major operating overhaul announced in January. Among those out of work are Anne-Grethe Mortensen, head of global marketing; Gerd Krüger, head of radiology; and Heiko Schipper, president of the company’s consumer health division. CMO Michael Devoy will retain his role but will no longer be part of the leadership team.
March 13
Spruce Biosciences has cut 21% of its workforce as part of a round of cost reductions that includes the shutdown of its CAHmelia-203 clinical trial, the company announced in its 2023 fourth quarter financial report. In a separate press release Thursday, Spruce revealed that the trial of its oral CRF1 antagonist tildacerfont failed in the treatment of adult classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
March 13
Coherus BioSciences is cutting its workforce by 30% as part of a restructuring that will result in a greater focus on oncology, the biotech announced Thursday in its 2023 fourth quarter financial results and business update. The firm completed the $170 million sale of its ophthalmology business to Sandoz on March 1, though the current round of layoffs did not begin until March 7.
March 12
Takeda Pharmaceuticals is shutting down R&D and manufacturing operations at a facility in Orth an der Donau, Austria, cutting 190 jobs in the process, Endpoints News reported, citing Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung. About 140 people will remain at the site in quality control as Takeda seeks to sell the property, which it picked up when it acquired Shire in 2019.
March 12
Innovent Biologics eliminated its entire research team at its U.S. headquarters and wet lab in Rockville, Md., near the end of February and will close the facility in the near future, BioSpace first reported. The Suzhou, China–based biotech conducted mostly ADC research at the Washington, D.C.–area lab.
March 11
Sanofi is closing a former Kymab R&D facility in Cambridge, U.K., according to Cambridge publication BusinessWeekly. While the Big Pharma firm said it will try to find homes elsewhere in the company for the 90 affected employees, there could be layoffs. Sanofi acquired Kymab for $1.4 billion in 2021.
March 7
Kronos Bio is cutting 21% of its workforce as part of a corporate restructuring that the company said would extend its cash runway into late 2026. Kronos—which currently has about 100 employees, according to Yahoo! Finance—announced in December that a key trial had failed in Phase Ib.
March 5
Sumitomo Pharma will lay off approximately 400 staff in order to pare down its North American business operations following disappointing sales of three of its drugs, the company announced Monday. In a subsequent announcement, Sumitomo detailed what it called an organizational alignment, including the dissolution of its CNS sales department and the departures of its managing executive officer and two executive officers. Current Vice President Yutaka Wakemi will assume the post of executive officer on April 1.
The cuts follow an earlier layoff of 62 employees in Sumitomo’s New York offices in July 2023.
March 5
Meissa Vaccines is halting plans to launch a Phase II/III clinical study of its MV-012-968 intranasal RSV vaccine due to funding shortfalls, causing an unspecified number of layoffs, FierceBiotech reported. CEO Frank Glavin indicated that Meissa would “review its strategic options” in light of this funding issue, putting the future of the company in doubt.
March 4
Chemical conglomerate and CDMO Evonik Industries will eliminate as many as 2,000 jobs from its global workforce by 2026, Reuters reported. That represents 32% of the German firm’s current workforce of more than 6,200.
March 1
Pfizer will cut 120 jobs as part of its decision to end construction on a planned $350 million, 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Everett, Washington, according to reports from Puget Sound Business Journal and GeekWire. Pfizer, which acquired Seagen for $43 billion last year, will reportedly shift most of the manufacturing planned for the Seattle-area facility to an existing site in Sanford, North Carolina.
March 1
Arrakis Therapeutics is cutting about 20% of its staff, Endpoints News reported. The startup biotech, which is developing targeted RNA degrader therapeutics, had nearly 100 employees as of August 2023.
March 1
Moderna has laid off an unspecified number of manufacturing and quality-assurance workers in its Burlington and Norwood, Massachusetts, facilities, Endpoints News reported. The mRNA vaccine maker attributed the cuts to previously announced lower demand for COVID-19 shots, though the firm said just last week that it has completed construction on a new mRNA manufacturing facility in Quebec.
February
Feb. 29
Kineta announced a corporate restructuring that has resulted in the elimination of seven jobs, or 64% of its current workforce. Among those losing their jobs is CEO Shawn Iadonato, though he has been retained as a consultant through the end of the year as the firm considers a sale, acquisition, liquidation or other alternative. Kineta has also stopped enrolling patients in its VISTA-101 Phase I/II trial for its KVA12123 compound for advanced solid tumors.
Feb. 29
Gritstone Bio announced it is trimming its workforce by about 40% following the delay of its planned Phase IIb study for a self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which cost the company funding from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support the research. Gritstone said the study will now launch in the fall of 2024 as opposed to the originally planned Q1 start.
Feb. 28
Swiss biotech ObsEva announced plans to shut down completely and terminate all its employees. The troubled clinical-stage firm focused on women’s health had as few as 15 employees, according to various online trackers.
Feb. 27
Perrigo disclosed in its 2023 fourth-quarter financial report that it was cutting about 6% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan. The company currently employs approximately 9,000 people worldwide, according to its website, meaning that more than 500 workers will lose their jobs.
Feb. 26
Denali Therapeutics is laying off an unidentified number of employees, according to a Fierce Biotech report on Monday. This comes after a Phase II trial of a Denali and Sanofi-partnered ALS candidate did not reach its primary endpoint in Phase II, which was disclosed in an SEC document earlier in February. According to Fierce, the exact number of workers affected was not disclosed. However, a Denali spokesperson told the outlet that the layoffs constitute “considerably less” than 10% of its workforce.
Feb. 22
Galapagos NV announced in its full-year results for 2023 that it has “streamlined” its operations and reduced around 100 positions across the board. The company said in a statement that this staff reduction is to “align with the Galapagos’ renewed focus on innovation.” However, no details were given on where the positions were cut or exactly when they occurred. Galapagos is also halting the development of its CD19 CAR-T candidate in refractory systemic lupus erythematosus “for strategic reasons,” the Belgian biotech said.
Feb. 21
Adaptive Biotechnologies has cut 6.7% of its workforce as part of a “strategic review,” Endpoints News reported. The exact number of lost jobs was not disclosed. The company last downsized its workforce in March 2022.
Feb. 20
Ring Therapeutics has eliminated 19 jobs, or nearly 20% of its workforce, according to STAT News. The gene therapy startup, founded by Flagship Pioneering, raised an $86.5 million Series C round less than a year ago.
Feb. 16:
Kenvue is cutting 51 jobs in New Jersey and 84 in California, according to FiercePharma. The former consumer health division of Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue was spun off from the core pharmaceutical business in mid-2023.
Feb. 16:
Sonata Therapeutics has eliminated 21 jobs, or one-third of its approximately 63 employees, STAT News reported Friday, citing social media posts and a company spokesperson. The startup, a combination of two Flagship Pioneering companies, focuses on the role of cellular microenvironments in causing disease.
Feb. 15:
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals announced plans to cut at least 25% of its workforce this quarter after the company failed to find a buyer, Fierce Biotech reported. The Canadian biotech firm is trimming its drug pipeline, eliminating work on its AUR200 compound for B-cell mediated autoimmune conditions and its AUR300 M2 macrophage regulator.
Feb. 14:
Catalent has reduced its headcount by an additional 300 in the 2023 fourth quarter as part of an ongoing restructuring effort, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing. This followed a Dec. 8 announcement that Catalent had reduced its workforce by 1,100 to that date. Catalent is in the process of being acquired by Novo Nordisk for $16.5 billion.
Feb. 13:
LianBio is laying off more than 50 full-time employees, or half of its current workforce, as the company begins to wind down its operations, according to a Feb. 13 LianBio press release. The Chinese biotech will voluntarily delist from the Nasdaq around March 18 and expects to dissolve by 2027, the company said.
Feb. 9:
Roche will be cutting 345 jobs, according to the Swiss business news site Muula. According to the Muula report, the layoffs affect the Basel-based pharma’s product development division and account for 6% of the workforce in this division. A Roche spokesperson told Reuters that the job cuts would actually be fewer than 345 but did not give an exact figure.
Feb. 9:
Sandoz will be shutting down one of its sites in North Carolina and axing 213 positions along with it, according to the WARN summary issued by the state. The site in question is Eon Labs, a generic manufacturer based in Wilson. A Sandoz spokesperson told Fierce Pharma that the site is closed due to “price erosion” in the generics sector. Sandoz acquired Eon Labs in 2005 and subsequently folded it into its generics division.
Feb. 9:
Synlogic will be cutting 90% of its staff, including CEO Aoife Brennan. The layoffs come as the company decides to halt any future work in its Synpheny-3 study on its treatment candidate SYNB1934 (labafenogene marselecobac) for phenylketonuria.
According to a company release, Synlogic is halting the trial due to the findings of an independent data monitoring committee that the trial would not meet its primary endpoint. The biotech is now working with clinical trial sites to execute the discontinuation while the board will “evaluate strategic options” for the company, the release stated. These options may include an acquisition, merger, sale of its assets, dissolution or reverse merger, among other possibilities.
Feb. 6:
Rallybio Corporation is laying off nearly half of its workforce—19 people—in a bid to extend its cash runway into 2026, the New Haven–based biopharma announced Tuesday. According to the announcement, Rallybio will now prioritize development of two Phase II candidates, a monoclonal antibody to prevent fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, and an injected inhibitor designed to treat patients with complement-mediated diseases.
January
Jan. 31:
After struggling as a pandemic player, Novavax last year embarked on a company transformation. Part of that overhaul will involve a global workforce reduction of approximately 12%, the company announced on Wednesday. The move follows Novavax’s May 2023 decision to cut 25% of its workforce. Once the layoffs are complete, the company expects to have 30% fewer employees than it did at the end of the first quarter in 2023, according to the press release.
According to Novavax, the transition will allow the company to bring its COVID-19-influenza combination vaccine into Phase III. President and CEO John C. Jacobs said Novavax is “purposefully focusing only on the critical activities needed to achieve our objectives and strengthen the financial performance of the Company.”
Jan 30:
2seventy Bio is making some significant changes. The company will sell its research and development pipeline to Regeneron and cut 55 staff members, around 45% of its remaining personnel, Endpoints News reported Tuesday. Regeneron will acquire all of 2seventy Bio’s R&D infrastructure and employees, including 160 people, as well as CSO Philip Gregory, who will be the head of Regeneron’s new cell medicines unit, according to Endpoints. The deal will see Regeneron pay $5 million upfront to 2seventy Bio, along with a single milestone payment and eventual royalty payments. According to Endpoints, the biotech will now focus on commercializing a CAR-T cell, Abecma, developed with BMS. Meanwhile, 2seventybio CEO Nick Leschly will become board chairman, while COO Chip Baird will assume the CEO post.
Jan. 29:
Cell therapy biotech Catamaran Bio is ceasing operations, according to a post by CEO Alvin Shih on LinkedIn. Shih said the “difficult decision” has been made to suspend day-to-day operations while the company looks to “pursue strategic options.” He said the company still believes in its allogenic therapeutics but noted the challenging state of the financing environment for early-stage companies in the cell therapy arena. Catamaran will seek strategic partners for its CAR NK cell therapy candidates, Endpoints News reported. The company had 19 employees as of Monday, Shih told Endpoints, adding that a “handful” will stay on for a transition period.
Jan. 29:
Big pharma giveth and big pharma taketh away. Fifteen months after inking a lucrative licensing an R&D collaboration with Roche focused on its HB-700 KRAS program, Hookipa Pharma revealed Monday that the Swiss pharma had terminated the agreement. In the same business update, Hookipa announced it will cut approximately 30% of its workforce in a cost-saving initiative. The New York and Vienna–based company said it plans to submit an Investigational New Drug application for HB-700 in the first quarter of this year and will begin the search for a new collaboration partner. Separately, Hookipa will pause development on prostate cancer asset HB-300 and most preclinical research activities, according to the business update.
Jan. 29:
Pfizer’s cost-cutting campaign continues as the company plans to lay off 52 employees at a facility in South San Francisco, Fierce Pharma reported Monday, citing a recent WARN alert. The layoffs are to take effect in mid-February. According to Fierce, the address listed on the WARN report matches the former headquarters of Global Blood Therapeutics, which Pfizer acquired in 2022 for $5.4 billion. Pfizer launched a sweeping cost-cutting initiative in October 2023, aiming to generate $3.5 billion in savings through 2024 as it weathers a steep decline in sales of its COVID-19 products. Since then, the move has affected employees in Groton, Connecticut; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Kent, U.K.
Jan. 26:
Boston–based programmable RNA startup Strand Therapeutics has laid off around 18% of its staff, Endpoints News reported Friday. The layoffs affect 19 of Strand’s 108 employees who worked on its earliest stage programs, the company told Endpoints.
“We’re moving from platform to pipeline,” Strand CEO Jake Becraft told the publication. “Some of the tools we had been building over the last year or two, even though successful in the research, are not going to be needed in those drug products.”
This news follows Strand’s announcement on Monday that the FDA has cleared a Phase I trial for STX-001, an mRNA-based cancer therapy that triggers production of the inflammatory protein IL-12 for an extended period of time directly into the tumor microenvironment.
Jan. 22:
Stamford, CT-based Cara Therapeutics will lay off about half of its employees, the company announced on Monday, including CSO Frédérique Menzaghi. The move comes hand in hand with the shuttering of its Phase III chronic kidney disease program and is expected to extend Cara’s cash runway into 2026. The biotech—which had 106 employees as of March 2023, Endpoints News reported—will now shift its focus to investigating difelikefalin in patients with the neuropathic disorder notalgia paresthetica (NP) after oral difelikefalin failed to show meaningful clinical benefit in patients with atopic dermatitis.
Jan. 18:
Ikena Oncology is laying off approximately 35% of its workforce as part of “an organizational streamlining that allows for the reallocation of resources from exploratory research and discovery towards the ongoing targeted oncology clinical programs,” the company announced Thursday. According to an SEC filing, about 20 employees will be let go from the Boston–based company, with 37 remaining. The filing also notes that on January 17, Bristol Myers Squibb notified Ikena that it would not continue a collaboration the two companies had around two drug candidates. In its announcement, Ikena said it will now focus exclusively on its two lead, clinical-stage oncology candidates, and that its cash runway extends into the second half of 2026.
Jan. 18:
PMV Pharmaceuticals is laying off approximately 30% of its staff in order to extend its cash runway to the end of 2026, the company announced Thursday. According to its LinkedIn page, the New Jersey–based company has between 51-200 employees. PMV said its priority is development of its candidate PC14586, a small molecule p53 reactivator now in clinical trials to treat solid tumors with a specific mutation.
Jan. 17:
Bayer unveiled a new operating model on Wednesday that will involve an unspecified number of layoffs. Barbara Gansewendt, chairwoman of the company’s Group Executives’ Committee, said in a statement that the move “will come at the expense of many managerial employees.” As of the end of last year, Bayer had 101,000 employees worldwide.
Jan. 17:
Lonza will cut 218 jobs at its Hayward, California site, according to a WARN report. The company reported that it is closing its manufacturing facility there. The layoffs will take effect Feb. 2, with the plant closing in the first quarter of 2025, a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma.
Jan. 16:
Dewpoint Therapeutics is cutting approximately 20 positions, or 15% of its staff, as a couple of pharma collaborations fell through, CEO Ameet Nathwani told STAT News. The move is intended to free up cash to onboard new hires who will focus on growing the company’s AI platforms and bringing its first drugs into clinical trials, according to STAT.
Jan. 16:
Allakos, Inc. is ending work on its candidate lirentelimab after disappointing Phase II results in atopic dermatitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria and laying off about 50% of its workforce, the company announced Tuesday. The San Carlos, California–based company has 123 employees, according to GlobalData. Allakos said the restructuring will extend its cash runway into 2026 and that it will now focus on its monoclonal antibody AK006, which was engineered to inhibit mast cells and is now in Phase I testing in healthy volunteers.
Jan. 9:
C4 Therapeutics will lay off about 30% of its staff, or 45 people, in a bid to extend its cash runway into 2027, the company announced Tuesday. The company said it will prioritize development of its clinical-stage candidates CFT7455, CFT1946 and CFT8919, all of which are aimed at treating cancers. “Our strengthened balance sheet, coupled with cost savings from our restructuring, provide sufficient runway to execute through and beyond critical milestones across the portfolio,” said Andrew Hirsch, C4 president and CEO, in the company’s announcement.
Jan. 8:
German immuno-oncology company Affimed is cutting its headcount by up to half, it announced Monday. The company said the restructuring will direct all of its resources into its clinical-stage programs and extend its cash runway into 2025. Affimed announced last week that it is selling its subsidiary AbCheck. As of the end of March 2023, Affimed had 219 full-time employees, the company stated in an annual report.
Affimed CEO Adi Hoess, who has held the position for 13 years, will step down effective Jan. 15, according to the announcement, and Chief Medical Officer Andreas Harstrick will serve as interim CEO.
Jan. 5:
Senti Biosciences will lay off about 37% of its workforce, the South San Francisco–based company announced on Friday. Senti, which recently received Investigational New Drug approval from the FDA for its cell-based treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, said in the announcement that it will focus its resources on that candidate and on developing a treatment for a form of hepatocellular carcinoma. It expects that its cash runway will now be extended into the first quarter of next year.
According to its LinkedIn page, Senti has between 51–200 employees.
Jan. 5:
Allogene Therapeutics will cut nearly a quarter of its workforce as it shifts focus to developing its blood cancer therapy, Reuters reported Friday. The South San Francisco–based company recently announced it no longer focus on two studies testing another blood cancer therapy Cema-Cel, according to Reuters. Allogene had 361 employees as of February 2023.
Jan. 4:
Intellia Therapeutics is laying off approximately 15% of its workforce and pausing select exploratory research-stage programs, the gene editing company announced Thursday. The cuts will take place across all departments, a company representative told Endpoints News, and “won’t impact its lead programs and candidates.”
Intellia made the announcement in a press release highlighting the company’s three-year strategic priorities and 2024 key milestones, which include dosing the first patient in the MAGNITUDE trial of NTLA-2001 in ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy in Q1 of this year and preparing for the Phase III study of NTLA-2001 in ATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy.
As of Feb. 17, 2023, Intellia had 598 full-time employees, 471 of whom were primarily working in R&D, according to an SEC filing.
Jan. 4:
Thermo Fisher Scientific is closing its site in Petaluma, Calif., and will part with 74 of the facility’s employees, according to a WARN notice, Endpoints News reported. Thermo Fisher’s 10-year lease at the 89,649-square-foot facility—which makes pipette tips, microcentrifuge tubes and racks—expires in July, according to the North Bay Business Journal.
“Decisions that impact colleagues and their families are never taken lightly,” a company spokesperson told San Francisco Business Times in an email. “All impacted colleagues will receive job transition support to aid them in finding new opportunities.”
Jan. 4:
Aera Therapeutics, which launched in February 2023 with $193 million in combined Series A and Series B funds to “enable and advance the next generation of transformative genetic medicines,” has laid off 25% of its staff, STAT News reported.
In a statement, spokesman Dan Budwick blamed a difficult biotech funding environment for the cuts. “Although Aera remains in a strong cash position today, given the current biotech funding environment, we have chosen to take steps to focus our strategy and investments on the development of our novel delivery platforms, thereby further extending our cash runway,” he said, according to STAT.
Founded by world-renowned scientist Feng Zhang, Aera is attempting to deliver CRISPR enzymes and other gene-editing or gene-modulation tools to specific cells and organs in the body.
Jan. 1:
On Dec. 22, 2023, AlloVir announced it would discontinue its three Phase III studies of posoleucel, an investigational T cell therapy, after DSMB futility analyses concluded the trials were unlikely to meet their primary endpoints. The Waltham, Mass.–based company has now revealed it will part ways with approximately 95% of its staff “in order to reduce costs and preserve capital,” according to a WARN report dated Jan. 1. The layoffs will primarily take place during the first quarter of this year. The company had 114 employees as of Sept. 30, 2023, according to an SEC filing.
December
Dec. 19:
Following the Phase II failure of its lead asset last month, Aclaris Therapeutics is laying off 46% of its workforce, the company announced Tuesday. The company will cease development of zunsemetinib (ATI-450) for immuno-inflammatory disease indications after the failure but will explore its use in some cancers, according to the announcement, along with continuing to develop other candidates in its pipeline.
The Pennsylvania-based Aclaris had 100 employees as of the end of 2022, according to an SEC filing.
Dec. 19:
Immunotherapy company Asher Bio has laid off 34 people—60% of its workforce—and is narrowing its focus to a single drug candidate, Fierce Biotech reported Tuesday. That asset, AB248, is now in Phase I testing for solid tumors in combination with Keytruda.
The South San Francisco–based Asher emerged from stealth in 2021 and announced $108 million in Series B financing later that year.
Dec. 18:
Atara Biotherapeutics is laying off 73 employees in Thousand Oaks, California, according to a WARN notice reported by Endnotes News on Monday. The immunotherapy company had announced plans on November 1 to reduce its workforce by approximately 30%; a week later, its stock price plunged following the announcement that a Phase II trial of its candidate for multiple sclerosis had failed.
Dec. 14:
Following the Phase II failure of its investigational treatment for a group of rare genetic disorders, Reneo Pharmaceuticals will lay off 70% of its workforce, the company announced Thursday. According to an SEC filing, as of March 2023 Reneo had 48 employees, 36 of them full-time.
Reneo had been testing a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ) agonist called mavodelpar in people with metabolic disorders known as primary mitochondrial myopathies, but the therapy met neither its primary nor its secondary endpoints. The company is now discontinuing development of mavodelpar. Its stock price fell by 87% following the news, Fierce Biotech reported.
Dec. 13:
Immunology company Vir Biotechnology will lay off 12% of its workforce—approximately 75 positions—and shutter its R&D facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, and Portland, Oregon, next year, the company announced Wednesday. “While these decisions are difficult, they will enable us to prioritize investment in the clinical execution of our chronic hepatitis delta and chronic hepatitis B programs, as well as on broadening the long-term applicability of our world-class monoclonal antibody platform beyond infectious diseases to autoimmune diseases and oncology,” said Vir CEO Marianne De Backer in the company’s statement.
Vir had entered into a research and development partnership with GSK in April 2020 for COVID-19. But the companies’ Sotrovimab treatment lost FDA authorization two years later, and in February of this year, GSK stepped back from the coronavirus portion of the partnership while staying engaged with Vir on the development of a new flu shot and other respiratory virus programs. In July of this year, the flu vaccine candidate failed a Phase II trial.
Dec. 13:
Xellia Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of anti-infective treatments and critical care therapies owned by Novo Holdings, will lay off 80 employees at its Bedford, Ohio, plant, according to a WARN notice reported by Fierce Pharma. Fierce notes that the plant, located just outside Cleveland, was reopened in 2021 after a change of ownership and a $200 million revamp. The site had about 300 employees at the time.
Dec. 11:
Altamira Therapeutics has reduced its headcount by about 25% as part of a “streamlining” process, the company announced yesterday. Altamira has been shedding what it calls its legacy assets as it aims to focus exclusively on RNA delivery. The Bermuda-based company has between 11 and 50 employees, according to its LinkedIn page.
Dec. 8:
Catalent Pharma Solutions has cut 1,100 jobs this year, the company revealed in an annual report released Friday. The cuts, made mostly in the biologics and corporate divisions, came amid revenue losses of $539 million.
Dec. 7:
Ferring Pharmaceuticals will lay off 55 employees in Minnesota and 79 in New Jersey in the coming months, according to WARN notices and reporting by KSTP-TV. A company spokesperson told the station that the Roseville, Minnesota, cuts affect about a quarter of positions at that site.
Dec. 5:
IGM Biosciences is laying off approximately 22% of its employees, the company announced Tuesday. The restructuring will extend the biotech’s cash runway into 2026 as it prioritizes candidates for colorectal cancer and autoimmune disease, according to the announcement, while discontinuing programs in hematologic oncology and targeted cytokine products.
“Although we are very encouraged by the clinical and preclinical data that we have generated for the programs we are halting, given the difficult conditions in the capital markets for our industry, we have decided to focus our capital resources on those opportunities that we believe have the most potential to produce significant near-term value,” said IGM CEO Fred Schwarzer in the company’s statement.
Dec. 5:
ReNAgade Therapeutics, which launched in May with $300 in Series A funding, is now laying off 10% of its staff, Fierce Biotech reported Tuesday. The company had about 100 employees at its launch, Fierce reported. While the company has not revealed details about its pipeline, it describes its mission as “to unlock the potential for RNA medicines to treat disease anywhere in the body.”
Dec. 4:
Travere Therapeutics will reduce its workforce by about 20% in an effort to extend its cash runway into 2028, the company announced Monday. The San Diego–based biopharma has 462 employees, according to Global Data.
Travere tied the layoffs to the approval process and launch of Filspari (sparsentan), which has accelerated approval for IgA nephropathy and which the company has been testing for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). “Unfortunately, there is uncertainty around a regulatory path forward for FSGS. While we intend to continue to engage with FDA on a way forward for the more than 40,000 people living with FSGS in the U.S., we must at the same time prioritize our operating expenses,” said Eric Dube, president and CEO of Travere, in the company’s statement.
November
Nov 30:
Pfizer will lay off some staff at its Groton, Connecticut, facility, Fierce Pharma reported Thursday. A company spokesperson confirmed the move in an email to the outlet but did not specify how many people would be affected. According to a slide deck posted to Pfizer’s website, the Groton facility employs 2,600 scientists and R&D professionals.
The Groton cuts are part of a $3.5 billion cost-cutting program Pfizer announced in October, citing falling sales of its COVID-19 products. Since then, the company has reportedly culled staff in Kent, U.K.; Kildare, Ireland; Michigan; North Carolina and Colorado.
Nov. 30:
Startup Orna Therapeutics has laid off an unspecified number of staff, Endpoints News reports. Orna CEO Tom Barnes told Endpoints in an email that the layoff was “defensive” and affected under one-quarter of the staff. He said the move would ensure the company can bring its lead product “to a meaningful clinical inflection point without needing to be reliant on capital markets.” That candidate therapy, ORN-101, consists of circular RNA delivered via lipid nanoparticles to treat tumors.
Nov. 29:
Gilead is reducing the headcount at its cell therapy business, Kite Pharma, by about 7%, Fierce Biotech reported Wednesday.
“In some cases, we are also making the decision to reduce the number of roles in certain areas of our business that are not aligned to our refreshed strategic priorities and in areas where there may be more efficient ways to achieve those priorities, which may impact some team members,” Cindy Perettie, executive vice president at Kite, told Fierce.
A Gilead spokesperson, however, told the publication that 90 new roles are being created “that are better aligned with the organization’s focus,” resulting in a net impact of 5%.
Nov. 28:
Mass.–based Candel Therapeutics is laying off approximately half of its workforce in order to prioritize topline readouts for its lead program, CAN-2409, in non-small cell lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers, all expected in 2024. The strategic restructuring plan will also support continued development of CAN-3110, being developed to treat recurrent high-grade glioma, according to the announcement.
Candel currently has 84 employees, per its LinkedIn page.
Nov. 28:
In a company-wide reorganization, Vancouver, BC–based biotech AbCellera Biologics is parting with around 10% of its employees. AbCellera announced the layoffs in a regulatory filing Tuesday, where it stated the restructuring is aimed at increasing its focus on the clinical development of its therapeutic antibodies, according to Seeking Alpha.
With its proprietary antibody discovery and development engine, AbCellera touts the ability to generate a wide range of diverse antibodies, express and test hundreds of antibodies with robust characterization and developability assessment, as well as downselect to reveal functional and developable leads. AbCellera currently has 582 employees, according to its LinkedIn page.
Nov. 28:
Novocure is laying off about 200 people, 13% of its workforce, the company announced Tuesday.
The biotech revealed in August that its electric field-based treatment had failed to meet the primary endpoint in a Phase III ovarian cancer study. According to the new announcement, Novocure is now prioritizing readiness to launch the treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer after anticipated approval, as well as for trials on brain metastases and solid tumors.
Nov. 27:
In an SEC filing dated Nov. 27, Generation Bio announced it would lay off around 40% of its workforce. The move, which will also see the departure of the biotech’s chief medical officer, Douglas Kerr, and chief development officer, Tracy Zimmermann, is expected to extend the company’s cash runway into the second half of 2027.
The reorganization is intended to allow the gene therapy company to expand its cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle (ctLNP) delivery system to targets beyond the liver, according to a press release. “We believe there is a clear path to developing our own programs using ctLNP to reach extrahepatic targets and are realigning our investments to support this,” CEO Geoff McDonough said in a statement.
Nov. 16:
858 Therapeutics, a San Diego–based biotech developing small-molecule drugs for cancer and other conditions, is laying off an unspecified number of staff and closing its New York office, according to a company statement reported by Fierce Biotech.
858 exited stealth mode two years ago with $60 million in Series A funding. It announced at the time that it had acquired New York–based Gotham Therapeutics, and that it planned “to significantly scale up the size of its team to around 40 people within the next year and a half.”
Nov. 14:
Biotech Atreca is laying off 40% of its staff, the company announced Tuesday as it reported a Q3 loss of more than $36 million.
Atreca, which focuses on antibody-drug conjugates, underwent previous rounds of layoffs in 2022 and earlier this year and said in September that it was terminating the lease on its San Carlos, California headquarters in order to cut costs. The company reported to the SEC that it had 90 employees as of the end of last year.
Nov. 14:
Pfizer is planning to lay off around 500 of its staffers and terminate its Pharmaceutical Sciences Small Molecule functions at its facility in Sandwich, Kent in the U.K., according to several media reports on Tuesday.
The business scale-back comes amid Pfizer’s sweeping cost-reduction plan announced last month, which will see the company generate $3.5 billion in savings through 2024.
Nov. 13:
Theseus Pharmaceuticals announced Monday it is laying off 72% of its staff—about 26 people, Endpoint News reported. Among those let go is President of R&D William C. Shakespeare, who will stay on as a consultant until the middle of next year.
Theseus, which focuses on developing cancer therapies, announced in July that it was terminating development of THE-630 after the candidate was found to have dose-limiting toxicities in a Phase I/II trial for gastrointestinal stromal tumors. According to Monday’s announcement about the layoffs, “As part of this process, the Company plans to consider a wide range of options with a focus on maximizing shareholder value, including potential sale of assets of the Company, a sale of the Company, a merger or other strategic action.”
Nov. 13:
Orbital Therapeutics, a spin-out of Beam Therapeutics that aims to develop RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, is closing its South San Francisco office and laying off 16 people, Endpoints News reports.
Launched in September 2022, Orbital announced this April that it had raised $270 million in Series A funding.
“Orbital has made the strategic decision to close our South San Francisco site and will scale our operations and expand our team in Cambridge. We are grateful for the dedication and contributions of our impacted colleagues,” the company said in a statement to Endpoints.
Nov. 10:
Thermo Fisher will lay off 97 employees in the new year when it closes its plants in Auburn, Alabama, according to a WARN notice reported by Endpoints News. The outlet notes that the move follows multiple other layoffs this year at Thermo Fisher facilities across the U.S.
Nov. 8:
SQZ Biotechnologies is reducing its workforce by approximately 80%, the company noted Wednesday in its third-quarter earnings release. The cell therapy company has between 51–200 employees, according to its LinkedIn page. In July, Roche announced that it would not expand a years-long collaboration with SQZ around products to target HPV16-positive solid tumors, despite positive preliminary Phase I results released earlier this year.
Nov. 8:
Regenxbio is reducing its workforce by 15%, the company announced Wednesday. Regenxbio said the restructuring will extend its cash runway into 2025 and that it will prioritize its candidate treatments for wet AMD and diabetic retinopathy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and mucopolysaccharidosis type II. The staffing cuts will come “primarily in rare neurodegenerative disease development, early research, and other general and administrative areas,” according to the announcement. Regenxbio has between 201–500 employees, according to its LinkedIn page.
Nov. 7:
Lyell Immunopharma will reduce its workforce by approximately 25%, the company announced on Tuesday, with Chief Medical Officer Tina Albertson among those to part ways with the company. “We have restructured our company to prioritize investment in our clinical-stage programs and core research platforms and have streamlined operations,” said Lyell President and CEO Lynn Seely in the announcement. The company had reported having 274 employees as of the end of 2022.
Endpoints News noted that Lyell, which specializes in T-cell cancer therapies, was valued at more than $4 billion when it went public in 2021 but is now worth about $550 million. A year ago, GSK terminated a deal with the company to discover and develop T-cell therapies using Lyell’s technologies.
Nov. 7:
Arbutus Biopharma is cutting 24% of its staff, the company announced Tuesday along with updates on its candidate therapies to functionally cure chronic hepatitis B. Separately, the company announced that its CEO, William Collier, will retire at the end of this year, and that Arbutus Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Michael J. McElhaugh will serve as interim CEO. Arbutus has between 51–200 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile.
Nov. 7:
Pyxis Oncology is cutting its headcount by approximately 40%, the company announced on Tuesday. According to the announcement, the layoffs and other cost-cutting measures will extend the company’s cash runway to early 2026 as it prioritizes two candidates currently in Phase I trials, antibody-drug conjugate PYX-201 and immune-oncology therapeutic PYX-106.
According to its LinkedIn page, Pyxis currently has between 51–100 employees.
Nov. 7:
Pfizer is cutting about 100 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Newbridge, Kildare, Ireland as part of its drive to cut $3.5 billion in costs. The move, reported by Fierce Pharma, the Irish Independent, and other outlets, comes as the company says it plans to expand at other sites in Ireland, adding 230 positions in Dublin and Cork.
Nov. 3:
Pfizer is laying off around 200 employees at its manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan amid declining sales for its COVID-19 products, according to television station Fox 17. Friday’s news comes as the company struggles to regain its financial footing from the sharp decline in its COVID-19 business. In an attempt to weather the downturn, Pfizer last month launched a widespread cost-cutting initiative designed to generate $3.5 billion in savings through 2024.
Nov. 2:
Locanabio, a company that aimed to develop RNA-editing therapies, will shutter by the end of the year, CEO Jim Burns announced on LinkedIn Thursday. “While we continue to believe in the potential of our RNA-targeted gene therapy platform to deliver transformative therapies, the decision was made due to the time and capital required to deliver clinical data in the current challenging funding environment,” he wrote. The closure was confirmed by Fierce Biotech. Locanabio, based in San Diego, has between 51–200 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile.
Nov. 2:
Kronos Bio will reduce its staff by 19%, the company announced Thursday just after releasing positive preliminary Phase I/II trial data on its antitumor candidate KB-0742. The company also has a therapy, lanraplenib, in development for FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia. “By streamlining our operations and extending our runway, we best position the company to optimally fund our KB-0742 clinical studies while continuing to focus on the clinical development of lanraplenib, the advancement of our maturing discovery projects, and our collaboration with Genentech,” said Kronos CEO Norbert Bischofberger in the company’s statement.
According to an SEC filing, Kronos had 97 employees at the beginning of this year. The company said its restructuring will extend its cash runway into 2026.
Nov. 2:
Seres Therapeutics will undergo a restructuring that includes reducing its workforce by 41%—approximately 160 positions—the company announced Thursday as it touted positive sales data for its microbiome therapeutic, Vowst. “Given the realities of this challenging financial environment for biopharmaceutical companies, we believe that concentrating our resources on VOWST offers an attractive opportunity for targeted revenue growth, while operating in a more capital efficient manner,” said Seres President and CEO Eric Shaff in the statement.
According to the announcement, Seres will prioritize Vowst’s commercial launch going forward, as well as an ongoing Phase IB study on the microbiome therapeutic candidate SER-155. It will scale back “all non-partnered R&D programs and activities.”
Nov. 1:
Rani Therapeutics will cut its workforce by 25%, the company announced Wednesday. The company, which is developing orally administered biologics, will halt or pause development of several of its candidate therapies while moving others into Phase I or II trials and expanding its manufacturing capabilities. According to the announcement, the cost-cutting measures will extend its cash runway into 2025. Rani has between 51–200 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile.
Nov. 1:
Sangamo Therapeutics is shuttering its Brisbane, California headquarters and cutting its U.S. workforce by approximately 162 people—40% of its total headcount—the company announced Wednesday. Among those to be let go are Chief Operating Officer D. Mark McClung and Chief Scientific Officer Jason Fontenot.
As part of the restructuring, Sangamo will transition its headquarters to its Richmond, California facility and cease investment for now in its investigative treatment for Fabry disease and in CAR-Treg cell therapy as it searches for partners to continue development of those programs. The company will instead focus on “epigenetic regulation therapies treating neurological diseases and novel AAV capsid delivery technologies,” according to the announcement. Sangamo expects that the restructuring will cut its operating expenses in half, allowing its funds to stretch into the third quarter of 2024.
October
Oct. 30:
Galapagos and Alfasigma have signed a letter of intent to transfer Galapagos’s Jyseleca (filgotinib) to Alfasigma. The potential deal, announced by Galapagos on Monday, would involve the transfer of approximately 400 employees to Alfasigma, while 100 others would be laid off. “Looking ahead, the planned transaction is expected to free up significant resources across the organization, enabling us to invest more in our R&D growth areas, business development and M&A,” said Galapagos CEO and Chairman Paul Stoffels in the company’s announcement.
Jyseleca is marketed in Europe and Japan for rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Earlier this year, it failed to meet primary endpoints in a Phase III trial for Crohn’s disease.
Oct. 30:
“Pfizer is in the process of closing its Peapack, New Jersey facility that will go in effect in early 2024,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to BioSpace. “The vast majority of colleagues will be re-assigned to Pfizer’s New York headquarters at 66 Hudson Yards with a small portion transitioning to the company’s Parsippany, NJ site. This follows a previously communicated decision in 2021 of plans to sell the Peapack campus.” The spokesperson added that if employees do not want to be reassigned to a different site, their employment will terminate.
The facility closure coincides with the company’s announcement two weeks ago that it will be cutting $3.5 billion in costs due to disappointing sales of the COVID-19 therapeutic Paxlovid, as well as the Comirnaty vaccine. New Jersey is far from the only site to feel the effects of the cuts; Fierce Pharma notes that Pfizer has also announced the closure of two facilities in North Carolina and reported an unspecified number of layoffs in Colorado.
Correction (Oct. 30): This story has been updated from its original version to reflect the fact that 791 employees are not being laid off in New Jersey, but rather are being transferred to new work sites. BioSpace regrets the error.
Oct. 26:
ElevateBio is cutting 13% of its workforce, a company spokesperson told Fierce Biotech Thursday. The Massachusetts-based company is involved in gene editing, RNA, cell, vector engineering, protein and induced pluripotent stem cell technologies; it is not clear how many employees it has. The cuts, to staff involved in the company’s preclinical work, come despite a $401 million Series D financing round that closed in May.
“Our financial position and balance sheet are very strong and we are experiencing robust customer and revenue growth,” the spokesperson told Fierce Biotech.
Oct. 24:
Amgen is letting go of 350 employees following its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, according to several media reports on Tuesday.
The layoffs will affect Horizon roles that overlap with existing teams at Amgen, a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma. More than 80% of Horizon’s staff will be absorbed into Amgen roles, “reflecting the knowledge and capabilities we need to continue serving patients suffering from rare diseases,” a spokesperson for the California-based biopharma said. At the end of 2022, Horizon had more than 2,100 employees, according to an SEC filing.
This is Amgen’s third round of layoffs this year.
Oct. 24:
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics will lay off 30% of its staff, the Israel and New York–based company announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure narrows the company’s focus in the wake of a vote by an FDA advisory committee last month against approving its amyotrophic lateral sclerosis candidate NurOwn, and BrainStorm’s subsequent decision to withdraw its Biologics License Application and conduct a Phase IIIb clinical trial on the therapy.
According to the company’s announcement, the layoffs are part of “a strategic realignment to enable accelerated development of NurOwn.” Among those let go is EVP and Chief Medical Officer Kirk Taylor, whose responsibilities included leading launch activities.
As of June 30, BrainStorm reported that it had 44 employees between the U.S. and Israel.
Oct. 24:
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals has reduced the workforce at its headquarters in Switzerland by half, the company announced on Tuesday. “Approximately 475 positions at headquarters in Allschwil, Switzerland, have been made redundant through a combination of canceling open positions, not replacing people who are known to leave (outside the mass dismissal), and up to 300 terminations mainly in Research & Development and the associated support functions,” the announcement states.
Endpoints News noted that sales of Idorsia’s insomnia drug, Quviviq, have so far been disappointing. According to the company’s announcement, its cash runway now extends into next year. “Our short-term priority is to further extend our cash runway and we are actively reviewing all avenues including potential out-license deals with a few balls in the air that we expect to catch in the upcoming months,” Chief Financial Officer André C. Muller said in the statement.
Oct. 19:
Base-editing company Beam Therapeutics will lay off about 100 employees—20% of its workforce—it announced on Thursday. The move is part of a restructuring plan aimed at funding the company into 2026. Beam’s priorities going forward will include development of its sickle cell disease programs, a base editor to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and in vivo editing to treat liver disorders, while its hepatitis B program “will be paused and designated for partnering,” according to the announcement. Reuters reported that shares of the company declined by 2.4% in premarket trading Thursday.
Oct. 16:
Cell therapy company Nkarta is laying off 18 people, about 10% of its staff, it revealed in an SEC filing. The morning after the filing, the company announced that the FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug application for NKX019, its CAR NK cell therapy candidate for lupus nephritis. The announcement also notes “cost containment measures designed to extend its projected cash runway by one year into 2026.” Nkarta President and CEO Paul Hastings told Fierce Biotech that the workforce cuts will take place “across the board,” in accordance with the company’s aim to focus on its later-stage programs.
Nkarta’s stock price rose by 112% following its announcement of the FDA clearance, Fierce Biotech reported.
Oct. 13:
Pfizer late Friday launched a sweeping cost-cutting initiative aimed at generating $3.5 billion in savings through 2024 as the company weathers a steep decline in the sales of its COVID-19 products.
Pfizer said the “multi-year, enterprise-wide cost realignment program” will involve layoffs, though it is still unclear how many employees will be affected. As of August 1, Pfizer employed approximately 83,000 people worldwide.
Oct. 11:
Sana Biotechnology will lay off 29% of its workforce—approximately 120 people—as part of a portfolio realignment initiative, the company announced on Tuesday. Sana will narrow its R&D focus to its ex vivo cell therapy platform and move away from an in vivo gene delivery program with an eye toward reducing its 2024 operating cash burn to below $200 million. According to the company, this will allow Sana’s current cash runway to extend further into 2025 while also providing leeway for investments in clinical capabilities across various indications.
Tuesday’s downsizing follows a previous round of layoffs in August, which was first revealed through a series of LinkedIn posts made by company employees. Sana later confirmed the downsizing to Endpoints News, but did not disclose exactly how many were let go. The biotech also underwent a strategic reorganization in November 2022, which included a workforce reduction of around 15%.
Oct. 9:
Biogen is laying off 113 employees from Reata Pharmaceuticals’ Plano, Texas site, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice. The layoffs, set to take effect in late November, come just months after Biogen acquired Reata for $7.3 billion in July 2023.
At the time, Biogen had just launched a sweeping cost-reduction program that involved terminating around 1,000 employees in an effort to save $1 billion in operating expenses by 2025. Late last month, Biogen completed the acquisition of Reata. At the end of 2022, Reata had 321 employees, according to its annual report to the SEC.
Oct. 7:
Eikon Therapeutics has laid off some of its staff in a bid for efficiency, Fierce Biotech reported. The outlet obtained an Oct. 5 internal letter to staff from Eikon CEO Roger Perlmutter that reads in part, “As I discussed at the all-hands meeting last month, our recent success in advancing new programs requires that we become more selective in allocating our resources,” and “the plain fact is that our company, like all companies, must evolve to become more efficient.”
Eikon, which emerged from stealth in 2021, uses live-cell super-resolution microscopy and engineering for drug development, but Fierce Biotech calls it “famously tight-lipped about the discovery process.” The company has a Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonist in a Phase I trial to treat advanced solid tumors, and last month announced that it has integrated TLR 7 and 8 co-agonists into its clinical development program and that it plans to begin a Phase I trial on its PARP1 inhibitor—another experimental cancer drug developed with Impact Therapeutics—this year.
Oct. 5:
North Carolina-based gene therapy biotech Atsena Therapeutics recently laid off an undisclosed number of employees to conserve cash, multiple sources reported Thursday. Atsena has also raised about $24.5 million of a targeted $32 million in an insider-led Series B round, the company told Endpoints News. Atsena is expecting data from a Phase I/II trial of its lead program, ATSN-101, targeting the retinal disease Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) by the end of this year, Endpoints reported. It kicked off another Phase I/II trial of a second gene therapy, ATSN-201, for RS1-associated X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS)—a rare congenital retinal disease—in August.
Oct. 5:
uniQure is laying off 114 people, about 20% of its total workforce, the gene therapy company announced Thursday. The company “will discontinue more than half of its research and technology projects, including AMT-210 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and multiple undisclosed programs,” according to the announcement, while focusing on AAV capsid development and treatments in development for ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. uniQure will also continue several clinical-stage programs, including an investigational treatment for Huntington’s currently in Phase I/II trials.
The company said the moves will save $180 million, extending its cash runway into 2027. As part of the restructuring, Chief Scientific Officer Ricardo Dolmetsch is leaving the company, and uniQure executive Richard Porter will assume a new role as chief business and scientific officer.
Oct. 3:
Kezar Life Sciences is laying off 41% of its workforce and its CEO and chief medical officer will step down as part of a restructuring, the company announced Tuesday. Kezar has paused all of its research and drug discovery efforts, according to the announcement, as it focuses on shoring up enough funds for its Phase IIb clinical trial of the experimental drug zetomipzomib in lupus nephritis. The company anticipates having top-line data from that trial in mid-2026, with data from its Phase I trial of a drug for solid tumors and a Phase IIa trial of zetomipzomib in autoimmune hepatitis expected in the meantime.
Company co-founder and member of the board Christopher Kirk will replace fellow co-founder John Fowler as CEO, and Zung To, the current senior vice president for clinical development operations, will step into the role of chief medical officer.
Oct 2:
Syros Pharmaceuticals is laying off 35% of its workforce, and its CEO and chief science officer are also departing, the company announced Monday. Syros said it is ending a Phase I trial of a potential treatment for a type of leukemia, as well as earlier-stage work on that drug, to focus on tamibarotene, another blood cancer treatment that is currently in Phase II and III trials.
CEO Nancy Simonian, who has led the company since 2012, will retire in December, the company said, but she will remain on the board of directors. Replacing her will be Conley Chee, currently Syros’ chief commercial officer and chief business officer. Chief Scientific Officer Eric Olson will depart the company later this month. Syros had 117 employees as of the end of 2022, according to its most recent SEC filing.
September
Sept 28:
PTC Therapeutics announced Thursday it is laying off a further 25% of its workforce. The move continues a restructuring the company began in May, when PTC laid off 8% of its employees and announced that it would discontinue several early-stage gene therapy development programs. Thursday’s announcement notes that the company “continues to focus its resources on its differentiated, high potential R&D programs and on support of the robust global commercial infrastructure.” It adds that PTC will submit a re-examination request regarding a recent decision by the EU’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommending against renewal of conditional authorization for Translarna for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In its most recent annual filing, at the end of 2022, PTC reported that it had 1,410 employees.
Sept 26:
Denmark–based biotech Galecto is searching for strategic alternatives after its lead lung disease asset failed the primary efficacy endpoint in a mid-stage trial in August. On Tuesday, the company announced it would lay off approximately 70% of its workforce—which equates to about 30 people. As part of its business evaluation, Galecto is also considering a number of opportunities, including an acquisition, merger, business combination or divestiture of assets, technologies or capabilities.
Following the Phase IIb trial failure, Galecto announced it would discontinue development of GB0139, which was being developed for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The company also stated it was re-evaluating its options and resource allocation plans “with the goal of extending our cash runway into 2025.”
Sept 26:
In a “workforce realignment,” AM-Pharma announced Tuesday it has completed a workforce reduction but did not provide specific numbers. The Netherlands–based biopharma is also switching it up at the top, with Juliane Bernholz—currently chief operating officer—succeeding Erik van den Berg as CEO.
These moves come nearly a year after AM-Pharma halted a pivotal Phase III trial of its recombinant alkaline phosphatase, ilofotase alfa, in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury after it failed the primary endpoint of rate of all-cause deaths at 28 days.
Sept 26:
French biopharma Poxel is seeking new financing to initiate Phase II proof-of-concept studies for its adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) assets, PXL770 and PXL065, and to “execute its rare diseases strategy.”
In the same announcement, the company disclosed that its headcount now stands at 15 employees, which compares to 37 at the end of December 2022 and 16 at the end of August, according to reporting by Endpoints News. Poxel is also taking a $17.6 million impairment, which “aims to best reflect the current value of PXL065” and takes into account the need to “obtain additional financing to pursue its development plan in NASH [non-alcoholic steatohepatitis] or ALD,” along with its current market capitalization and the macroeconomic context in which the company operates.
Sept 22:
It took more than four months, but ImmunityBio is laying off 48 staffers after failing to win approval in May for its bladder cancer therapy. The layoffs, which were revealed in a Sept. 19 California WARN notice, affect employees at the company’s El Segundo, California site, as well as remote workers who report to that site, Fierce Biotech reported on Friday.
In May, the company, headed by Patrick Soon-Shiong, had received a Complete Response Letter for the bladder cancer hopeful in which the FDA cited deficiencies with its third-party contract manufacturer. It’s also the biopharma’s second round of layoffs in less than a year. In October 2022, ImmunityBio parted with 30 employees due to “economic reasons” at a New York facility that was expected to expand the company’s manufacturing footprint.
On Sept. 11, the company announced it had taken on a $200 million convertible debt note from Nant Entities, an affiliate associated with Soon-Shiong, its founder, executive chair and global chief scientific and medical officer.
Sept 19:
NightHawk Biosciences is flying in a different direction as it turfs its R&D business in favor of its contract development and manufacturing organization, Scorpius Biomanufacturing. The plan will see NightHawk part with 13 employees in the R&D business, the equivalent of 14% of its workforce. The company believes the pivot “represent(s) its best opportunity for success” and said in an SEC filing that the layoffs, which will take place immediately, are expected to save $1.8 million in annual compensation.
Scorpius—a Texas-based CDMO specializing in mammalian, microbial and cell- and gene-based therapies—brought in $700,000 during the second quarter of 2023, Fierce Biotech reported, while the R&D business cost NightHawk $5.7 million in the same timeframe, according to the company’s Q2 business update.
Sept 19:
After a fresh start as Fresh Tracks Therapeutics a year ago, the company formerly known as Brickell Biotech will shut its doors for good. Fresh Tracks will discontinue all of its clinical and preclinical development programs and lay off “most employees” by early October, according to a statement issued Tuesday. The Colorado–based company had undertaken an “extensive” search for strategic alternatives, following which the Board of Directors decided to liquidate and dissolve the outfit. Certain employees, consultants and advisors will remain to oversee the wind-down of the company.
Fresh Tracks officially changed its name in September 2022 to reflect its strategic shift toward developing groundbreaking autoimmune and inflammatory disease therapies.
Sept 18:
Histogen is history. The San Diego–based biotech, which is focused on treating infectious diseases, announced that “after extensive consideration of potential strategic alternatives,” it will close its doors. Accordingly, Histogen is discontinuing all clinical development programs and will let most employees go by the end of September.
“The Board of Directors and management devoted substantial time and effort in identifying and pursuing various opportunities, but we were unable to complete a transaction that would allow us the potential to enhance stockholder value,” Steven J. Mento, president and CEO of Histogen, said in a statement.
Sept 18:
Bay area-based Kinnate Biopharma is undertaking a “reprioritization and workforce restructuring” plan that will reduce by 70% its current employees. The review, which considers the company’s cash runway, near-term pipeline value creation prospects, the evolving regulatory landscape for targeted therapies and other factors, will see Kinnate left with 28 full-time staff members, according to a press release issued Monday. The layoffs include all employees at Kinnate’s Chinese subsidiary, Kinnjiu Biopharma.
The cancer-focused company will focus its attention on KIN-8741, an exarafenib/binimetinib combination being developed for a range of solid tumors where c-MET is overexpressed, and its brain-penetrant CDK4 selective program, for which it plans to nominate a candidate in the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, it has paused development of KIN-7136, a brain-penetrant MEK inhibitor for MAPK pathway-driven solid tumors.
Sept 15:
Nearly two months after Lyndra Therapeutics replaced CEO Patricia Hurter with Executive President and Chief Operations Officer Jessica Ballinger, the Watertown, Mass.–based company is laying off nearly a quarter of its staff, Endpoints News reported. The layoffs are the result of the company’s decision to outsource commercial manufacturing and partner on both the development and commercialization of “all future products,” a spokesperson told Endpoints on Friday. Lyndra, which in 2019 teamed up with Gilead to develop and market ultra-long-acting oral HIV therapies, is expecting a top-line data readout from a pivotal trial of its long-lasting schizophrenia drug in “the next weeks,” the spokesperson said, “and we feel these changes will set us up to successfully navigate the regulatory pathway ahead and ultimately bring oral weekly medications to patients.”
Sept 12:
A “convergence” of factors led to the announcement that 2seventy bio will lay off approximately 40% of its staff in a sweeping reorganization that includes the departure of CEO Nick Leschly. On an investor call Tuesday, Leschly cited the “difficult and unpredictable macro environment” as the rationale behind the decision but added that delays experienced by the company’s later-stage programs and “complicated Abecma commercial dynamic” were also factors. Abcema is 2seventy’s approved treatment for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The company will also advance fewer pipeline programs, according to the announcement.
The workforce reduction—which represents 176 roles—is expected to generate an annualized cost savings of at least $65 million.
Sept 11:
Israel–based Enlivex Therapeutics is doubling down on its inflammatory and autoimmune indications—and tagging its oncology programs for either external collaborations or out-licensing—resulting in a 50% workforce reduction. In a press release issued Monday, Enlivex stated it expects the cuts and reclassification of the oncology indications to extend its cash runway through the end of 2025. As part of this push, the company has initiated a new program in osteoarthritis after preclinical evidence from its most advanced candidate, Allocetra, showed promise in this indication. Enlivex’s most advanced program is in organ failure associated with sepsis.
Sept 6:
CSL Vifor will be 85 employees lighter at its California location as of Oct. 25. CSL Vifor—which was established following the completion of CSL’s $11.7B acquisition of Vifor Pharma in August 2022—revealed the cuts in a California WARN notice. The addition brought Vifor’s iron deficiency and kidney disease portfolios under CSL’s extensive umbrella.
The layoffs are the result of a strategic review that found changes to the U.S. commercial business were required “in light of [CSL Vifor’s] current portfolio of marketed products and near to mid-term prospects to deliver cost, revenue and growth synergies,” a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma in an email.
Sept 5:
The hits just keep coming for Infinity Pharmaceuticals, which in July laid off approximately 78% of its workforce—or 21 employees—after the company’s planned merger with MEI Pharma broke down. On Friday, Infinity’s depleted board—the company reduced its board members from eight to five in July—terminated CEO Adelene Perkins and Chief Medical Officer Robert Ilaria Jr. as part of the ongoing restructuring plan, Seeking Alpha reported. Another three employees were also let go. As of Sept. 5, Infinity’s website lists Seth Tasker as CEO and the lone member of the leadership team.
August
Aug 31:
The Labor Day long weekend began on a sour note for more than half of the employees at Maryland–based NexImmune. The biotech, which is developing immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases, announced it will lay off approximately 53% of its staff, turning a workforce of 47 full-time employees into one of just 22 as of September 5. The move was designed to reduce costs and extend the company’s cash, according to the announcement. The departures include chief financial officer John Trainer, whose final day was listed as September 2.
“The workforce reduction protects our core capabilities to advance novel therapeutic candidates and our multiplex validation of functional antigen-specific T cell responses while giving us additional flexibility to manage our business,” CEO Kristi Jones said in the announcement.
Aug 31:
On the cusp of receiving its first clinical data—for SC291, a CD19-targeted allogeneic CAR T cell therapy—Sana Biotechnology is laying off an undisclosed number of its staff.
The revelation is based on about half a dozen LinkedIn posts recently made by Sana employees, according to Endpoints News, which reported the layoffs on Thursday.
“Due to company restructuring and downsizing, my role, and the role of many of my incredible colleagues, have been eliminated,” Cole Delyea, a senior research associate, posted on the business networking platform. In an email to Endpoints, a Sana spokesperson confirmed that it had found “operating efficiencies within a single area of research.”
The FDA cleared Sana’s IND application for SC291 in January.
Aug 31:
After winning approval for Zurzuvae (zuranolone) in postpartum depression (PPD) but failing to secure the larger prize of a major depression nod, Sage Therapeutics CEO Barry Greene said the company was evaluating a workforce reorganization. Thursday, that came to fruition as the Cambridge, Mass.–based biotech announced it would lay off approximately 40% of its staff. The move is intended to “right-size” the organization and enable commercial hires necessary for a fourth-quarter launch of Zurzuvae in PPD, according to the press release. Along with the workforce cuts, Sage announced that CSO Al Robichaud and Jim Doherty, chief development officer, will be departing the company.
Aug 29:
Apellis Pharmaceuticals will let go 225 employees, or 25% of its staff, the company announced on Monday. Coming off stock drops following safety concerns over its recently approved eye injection Syfovre--which turned out to be related to the needle used to deliver the medicine, not the drug itself--Apellis stated that it’s looking to save money in the near-term to achieve “long-term success.” The company is also facing competition from Astellas, whose eye therapy Izervay was approved earlier this month.
Aug 24:
Pfizer is laying off 69 employees at a plant in Lake Forest, IL, according to a July WARN notice from the state, though some employees may be able to transition to other roles in the company, a Pfizer spokesperson told Becker’s Hospital Review. “We have made the very difficult decision to discontinue some research projects to focus on programs where our innovation and investments may be best positioned to deliver high-impact breakthrough medicines and vaccines.”
Aug 24:
Agenus is cutting 25% of its workforce, according to a company press release issued on Wednesday. The immuno-oncology firm is refocusing its resources on its flagship program botensilimab/balstilimab (BOT/BAL), a CTLA-4/PD-1 combo treatment being developed for solid tumors, including colorectal cancer and melanoma, while halting all other preclinical and clinical programs for the time being. “Now is the pivotal moment to concentrate our efforts on the BOT/BAL program,” Chairman and CEO Garo Armen said in the statement. “The observed clinical benefit in solid tumors underscores the program’s game-changing potential, and our rapid progress towards a first filing in 2024 highlights the necessity for prioritization in every aspect of our operations.”
Aug 23:
Novartis will cut 103 jobs this fall, according to a state WARN notice. The layoffs will again affect the company’s East Hanover, NJ, headquarters and focus on clinical operations, Fierce Pharma reported. The move comes with a campus redesign and is part of a new approach to “enable faster trial recruitment and enhanced trial delivery,” a Novartis spokesperson told the publication. This is the company’s first significant round of layoffs since it announced late last year that its restructuring initiative would eliminate 285 jobs in the early part of 2023.
Aug 22
Lava Therapeutics will lay off 36% of its employees, the company announced with its second-quarter financial update today. The cuts come along with efforts to reprioritize Lava’s portfolio following the company’s June decision to discontinue development of LAVA-051, a gammabody intended to target CD1d-expressing tumors, including multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. At the end of last year, Lava had 69 full-time employees, Endpoints News reported.
Aug 22:
Aravive is laying off 70% of its staff, which numbered 23 people at the end of last year, according to an SEC filing. The terminations, which include Chief Operating Officer Scott Dove, come as the company shutters clinical development of the decoy protein batiraxcept, which recently failed to improve progression-free survival in a Phase III trial of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. In addition to its ovarian cancer program, the company was testing batiraxcept in Phase Ib/II trials of clear cell renal cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer, but following the Phase III flop, the company has decided it needs to conserve cash, the filing stated.
Aug 18:
BlueRock Therapeutics is laying off about 50 people, or about 12% of its employees, Endpoints News reported. The cuts will affect sites in New York, Toronto and Cambridge, MA. BlueRock is the cell therapy arm of Bayer, which bought the biotech in 2019. In June of this year, BlueRock announced positive Phase I data for its stem cell therapy bemdaneprocel, being developed for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Aug 15:
Starting in October, Thermo Fisher Scientific is letting go 205 employees from two sites in Alachua, Florida, according to a recent WARN notice. According to Fierce Pharma, the 95,000-square-foot Alachua facility oversees analytics and processes for viral vector systems and conducts quality control testing and manufacturing for cell and gene therapies in clinical development but is no longer listed on Thermo’s website. This marks the company’s sixth round of layoffs this year, having cut nearly 600 employees in the San Diego area and an additional 113 in New Jersey.
Aug 15:
Alaunos Therapeutics will lay off 60% of employees as it runs out of cash to continue operations, the company announced with its second-quarter financial results. The move comes hand in hand with a strategic shift that involves moving away from its TCR-T Library Phase 1/2 trial and focusing on its hunTR TCR discovery platform while exploring partnering opportunities. It’s unclear how many people will be affected by the layoffs, but according to an SEC filing the company had 34 full-time employees as of February.
Aug 14:
BioXcel Therapeutics is cutting its workforce by more than half, dropping from about 190 employees to 80, the company announced with its second-quarter earnings on Monday. The move came as the New Haven, Conn.–based, AI-focused biopharma company aims to reduce operating expenses by more than 50%, according to the press release. Additional strategic shifts include halting certain programs altogether and focusing on the development of BXCL501 for at-home treatment of agitation in schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and mild to moderate dementia due to probable Alzheimer’s disease.
Aug 14:
Bristol Myers Squibb will lay off 108 employees later this year, according to a New Jersey WARN report. The news comes shortly after the company announced its second-quarter earnings, which showed notably reduced sales of its chemotherapy Revlimid and lower overall revenue projections for 2023. It’s the second round of layoffs to hit BMS this year, with 48 staff members at its Princeton, New Jersey, facility losing their jobs in May.
Aug 10:
San Carlos, Calif.–based biotech Atreca is reorganizing its pipeline, suspending development of its lead candidate ATRC-101, a solid tumor monoclonal antibody, and cutting its workforce by 40%. The cuts will cost the company approximately $1.6 million, mostly in severance payments, according to an 8K filing dated Aug. 10. The remaining Atreca staff will focus their attention on the company’s preclinical antibody-drug conjugate candidates, with the company particularly highlighting APN-497444, being developed for gastrointestinal cancers.
Aug 9:
Immediately following the FDA’s rejection of avasopasem manganese (avasopasem)—intended to treat severe oral mucositis (SOM), or mouth sores, resulting from radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer—Galera Therapeutics announced it would lay off approximately 70% of its workforce. The move is one action the Malvern, Penn–based company is taking to extend its cash runway as it winds down commercial readiness efforts, according to a press release announcing the Complete Response Letter. The reductions will be felt across several departments.
“We are grateful for the many contributions our talented team has made over the years and their commitment to avasopasem,” Galera President and CEO Mel Sorensen said in a prepared statement.
Aug 9:
INOVIO Pharmaceuticals is abandoning development of its cervical lesion program, VGX-3100, along with 58 of its employees. The layoffs, which equate to 30% of INOVIO’s overall workforce, are the third staff reductions in the span of just over a year for the Pennsylvania-based company. In July 2022, INOVIO parted with 18% of its staff after encountering challenges in efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Then in January, looking for further cost savings, the company laid off an additional 11% of its team.
Aug 8:
Houston–based biotech Salarius Pharmaceuticals is reducing its small team by more than half as it explores strategic alternatives and takes measures to extend its resources. These measures may include “acquisition, merger, reverse merger, divestiture of assets, licensing or other strategic transactions,” according to the press release. Salarius President and CEO David Arthur said the decision to limit further drug development was “exceptionally difficult” in light of recent clinical wins that include FDA clearance of a Phase I trial for targeted protein degrader SP-3164 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company’s remaining employees will focus on “limited drug development activities.”
Aug 8:
In a shift away from contract manufacturing, Emergent BioSolutions will part ways with approximately 400 employees. The changes, which come as Emergent focuses its resources on its core businesses—medical countermeasures and Narcan—will also see the reduction of operations at the company’s facilities in Baltimore, MD, and Canton, MA. Emergent’s contract manufacturing business took a hit two years ago when cross-contamination ruined millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. The 400 individuals laid off Tuesday join 132 of their colleagues who lost their jobs in another “organizational restructuring” in January.
Aug 8:
San Francisco–based clinical trials company Curebase has laid off an undisclosed number of employees as it sunsets its full-service clinical operations business, CEO Tom Lemberg announced in a LinkedIn post. Lemberg put the decision down to the current state of the industry, saying, “We regret the turbulence our industry is experiencing, including staffing reductions at Curebase and many of our peer startups trying to make an impact in this space.”
Aug 3:
Celsius Therapeutics announced the launch of its first clinical trial for its lead asset CEL383, an anti-TREM1 antibody intended to treat inflammatory bowel disease—but it appears the Mass.-based company hobbled to the starting gate, recently laying off around two-thirds of its employees, CEO Tariq Kassum told STAT News. Celsius has also halted nearly all of its early-stage research work in order to launch the Phase I trial, Kassum told STAT.
“I do think that you’re seeing a lot of other companies doing what we are, which is, as painful as it is, to focus on the nearest-term value drivers, the things that can get to patients the quickest, and make the painful decisions that allow you to live to fight another day,” he said.
Aug 2:
In an effort to focus on its late-stage core programs, Karyopharm Therapeutics will reduce its workforce by around 20%, the Mass.-based company announced in its second-quarter financial report. The move will affect both full-time employees and contractors, Karyopharm stated. An SEC filing puts the company’s total workforce at 385 as of Feb. 10, meaning the cuts could affect around 80 people. With the move, Karyopharm expects to have cash runway into late 2025.
Aug 2:
Intergalactic Therapeutics, launched in 2020 by Apple Tree Partners and former Pfizer and Biogen exec Michael Ehlers, is parting ways with all of its employees and will “explore strategic options”, according to Heather Shea, a company spokesperson who confirmed the news to the Boston Business Journal.
In a LinkedIn post, Joseph Graskemper, the company’s head of external manufacturing and supply chain, indicated that economic reasons were at play in the decision. “The current economic environment has led to challenging times for companies to raise capital,” Graskemper wrote. “Unfortunately, Intergalactic Therapeutics was not immune to these challenges and all employees have been laid off, myself included.”
Intergalactic was developing non-viral gene therapies.
Aug 2:
Charles River Laboratories will shutter its discovery site in South San Francisco, a company representative confirmed in an email to BioSpace on August 1. The facility, located at 225 Gateway Blvd., employed 55 people, ranging from entry- to senior-level scientific and technical staff. The decision was made based on a determination that the pharmacokinetic and pharmacology services provided by the site “are not currently a strategic fit to support future growth,” the representative said, adding that the company’s antibody discovery and CRADL locations in South San Francisco are not affected.
Aug 2:
Another plant is shutting its doors, this one belonging to SterRx, a New York–based company that makes therapeutic products, including calcium-channel blocking agents, sedatives and vasopressors. The move, announced in a WARN notice dated July 26, will affect 161 employees. The decision, which involves two sites, was made due to economic reasons, according to the WARN notice. The first layoffs are expected to happen on Oct. 24, the same date listed for the closing of the facility.
July
July 28:
In a pipeline reprioritization, Ribon Therapeutics has made “cuts across the organization,” Chief Business Officer Gary Sutton told Endpoints News, which broke the news of the layoffs. The Cambridge, MA–based biotech has also ended its preclinical and platform work to prioritize development of two clinical programs: RBN-2397, an oral PARP7 inhibitor being tested in a Phase I trial of patients with solid tumors, and RBN-3143, an inhibitor of PARP14 currently in Phase I for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Sutton did not disclose the number of employees affected, Endpoints reported.
July 28:
On the heels of what it called “encouraging” data from a Phase I study evaluating HMI-103—an investigational gene editing candidate—in phenylketonuria (PKU), Homology Medicines is laying off nearly its entire workforce as it evaluates strategic options. Homology stated that despite the positive data for HM1-103, it would be shuttering its programs and reducing its workforce by 87%. In a press release, the company said the decision is due to “the current financing environment and Homology’s anticipated clinical development timelines.”
July 27:
Mersana Therapeutics will lay off around half of its workforce after the Phase III failure of its lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), upifitamab rilsodotin (UpRi), in ovarian cancer. Mersana announced Thursday that UpRi failed to meet the primary endpoint of investigator-assessed objective response rate in the UPLIFT trial, which was studying the therapeutic in patients with NaPi2b-positive ovarian cancer. This spells the end of the UpRi program, which also includes the UP-NEXT and UPGRADE-A clinical trials, which were both placed on partial clinical holds by the FDA in June, as Mersana said it would wind down development activities related to the ADC.
July 25:
After the breakdown of its planned merger with MEI Pharma, Infinity Pharmaceuticals is laying off approximately 78% of its current workforce in what the company is calling a value preservation and maximization plan. In addition to parting with 21 employees, Infinity will reduce its board from eight members to five and the remaining members will finish out their term uncompensated. On Monday, Infinity announced it had terminated the planned merger after MEI failed to obtain stockholder approval for the deal.
July 25:
In a sweeping move, Biogen will cut 11% of its workforce—amounting to approximately 1,000 jobs—as it gears up for the launch of Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, which gained full approval earlier this month. The layoffs are part of a larger cost-cutting and reorganization effort that began in 2022 on the heels of a disappointing rollout for the company’s other Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. The larger plan, dubbed “Fit for Growth” is expected to save approximately $1 billion in gross operating expenses by 2025, Biogen stated in its Q2 earnings report.
July 24:
The hits keep coming for Heron Therapeutics. Just over a year ago, Heron cut 34% of its workforce in what it called a “corporate restructuring and cost reduction plan.” Monday, the San Diego–based biotech was back with another corporate restructuring that will cost 25% of its employees their jobs. The overall cost reduction plan—which also includes streamlining operational expenditures, including reductions in R&D—is expected to save $75 million in cash through 2025.
July 21:
Illumina is laying off 151 workers in California, according to WARN notices filed with the state. The cuts include 79 workers in San Diego, 71 in Foster City and one in Hayward. The layoffs are part of an initiative to save $100 million by the end of the year.
Eliem Therapeutics announced it is dropping its one remaining program and exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of its business. This comes five months after the biotech laid off 55% of its staff and dropped its Phase II depression candidate.
Idorsia announced plans to lay off up to 500 workers in an attempt to cut spending in half at its headquarters in Allschwil, Switzerland by early 2024. The company has decided to stop its R&D efforts while it waits for Quviviq, its insomnia treatment, to bring in more cash.
Codexis announced it will no longer develop its own therapeutics and will focus on selling its existing technology and services. This shift will result in cutting 25% of its workforce and closing its facility in San Carlos, CA.
Passage Bio announced plans to cut 26% of its staff, including its chief financial officer and chief technical officer, according to an SEC filing. The cuts will be focused primarily on its chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) division.
July 19:
Amgen is laying off four members of staff from its San Carlos, CA facility effective Sept. 1, according to a WARN notice. This is the company’s third round of layoffs since Jan. 1. The first, announced in January, included 300 workers, and the second, announced in March, included 450.
FibroGen is cutting 104 workers in the U.S., or approximately 32% of its workforce, according to an SEC filing published Wednesday. This followed news in June that the company’s idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis candidate, pamrevlumab, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase III trial.
Amarin Corporation PLC announced it plans to lay off all workers in U.S. sales positions and eliminate 30% of non-sales roles as part of a restructuring initiative following the appointment of a new CEO. The company stated it will keep a small team on staff to continue developing its lead candidate, Vascepa.
Pieris Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday that it is undergoing a restructuring initiative and laying off 70% of its workforce after AstraZeneca pulled out of its partnership and licensing deal for its asthma treatment, elarekibep.
July 12:
Capsida Biotherapeutics is laying off staff, according to multiple outlets, but the company has not confirmed how many workers would be affected. Fierce Biotech reported the layoffs could include up to 25% of the team, citing “a source familiar with the decision.”
Sagent Pharmaceuticals is laying off 81 workers at its Raleigh, NC campus, according to a WARN notice filed with the state of North Carolina. The layoffs will take place on Aug. 11. Sagent acquired the facility in 2019, and at the time, it housed about 120 workers.
AVROBIO announced it is stopping the development of three gene therapies, cutting its workforce by about half and is on the lookout for a buyer for the rest of its assets, according to an SEC filing.
Theratechnologies announced it is cutting an unspecified number of workers in its R&D division in an effort to save cash, according to its Q2 financial report. Sales for both Trogarzo, a treatment for HIV infection and Egrifta, a treatment for fat gain due to HIV infection, were down 9% in Q2, and the company expects to save an extra $5.5 million annually by cutting down its R&D spending.
BAKX Therapeutics announced that as of July 1, it has shut the doors to its offices and labs, dissolved the company and laid off almost all of its staff. Several key members of the company, based in Watertown, MA, will stay put until Aug. 1.
July 7:
TrueBinding, a California biotech developing therapies for Alzheimer’s, has recently undergone two rounds of layoffs, according to Endpoints News, which cited LinkedIn posts as its source. The company did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment, but according to PitchBook, TrueBinding now has 27% fewer staff than it did in July 2022.
Galvanize Therapeutics conducted a round of layoffs last week, according to multiple outlets, just 10 months after it received $100 million in funding. The company would not confirm how many workers were cut in the layoffs.
July 6:
Sumitomo Pharma America plans to lay off 62 employees from its New York City office previously owned by its subsidiary Sumitovant Biopharma, according to a WARN notice published July 3. The company stated the layoffs are a result of its effort, previously announced in April, to combine its seven subsidiaries into one company dubbed Sumitomo Pharma America.
July 5:
Zymergen plans to lay off three workers in Alameda County, CA, effective Aug. 1, according to a California WARN report. The company was acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks in July 2022, and this most recent filing marks the fourth round of layoffs it has implemented since.
JUNE
June 30:
Bellerophon Therapeutics is laying off “substantially all” of its staff, according to an SEC filing. The cuts include the company’s C-suite. This follows a June 5 announcement that its only clinical program had come to a halt after failing to meet its primary endpoint in fibrotic interstitial lung disease.
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals is cutting 25% of its workforce and shifting its focus to to a GLP-1 antagonist being developed to treat metabolic diseases. As part of the restructuring, the company will also stop R&D spending for a liver disease candidate.
June 27:
Illumina has begun layoffs in San Diego in an effort to cut annual expenses by $100 million by the end of 2023, according to an SEC filing. No WARN report has been filed as of this writing, and the company declined to confirm how many workers were being laid off, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
June 26:
Intercept Pharmaceuticals announced it is abandoning its NASH program and laying off about one-third of its workforce. This came one day after the FDA denied the application for its obeticholic acid tablets to treat patients with pre-cirrhotic liver fibrosis due to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Intercept expects the cuts to save it about $140 million a year.
June 22:
Federation Bio confirmed to Fierce Biotech that it has laid off an undisclosed number of workers just six months after launching its first Phase I trial. The company did not disclose the reason for the layoffs.
June 21:
Nutcracker Therapeutics has laid off 12 employees, a company spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Biotech. The spokesperson added that the cuts were made in an attempt to focus on its three preclinical programs, emphasizing that the company has no plans to cut any of the programs at this time.
June 20:
Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to cut 88 workers in the San Diego area, according to a WARN notice filed in California. This news came two months after it announced plans to close three sites in San Diego. This brings Thermo Fisher’s total number of job cuts in the area to nearly 600 since the start of 2023.
Molecular Templates is laying off 44% of its workforce as part of a restructuring initiative to save cash flow and potentially find a buyer, according to a June 16 press release. This round of cuts follow a March announcement that the company was cutting approximately half of its staff.
Twist Bioscience is laying off 212 employees in California, according to WARN notices filed with the state. The majority of the cuts will take place in San Francisco. These layoffs are part of a restructuring initiative the company announced in May that includes cutting about 25% of its total workforce.
June 14:
Encoded Therapeutics is cutting approximately 10% of its headcount in an effort to extend cash flow into 2026, chief business officer David McNinch told Fierce Biotech. He declined to confirm how many staffers were affected, but he said the cuts were part of an effort to shift its focus to getting its lead asset, a treatment for Dravet syndrome, through the clinic.
June 12:
Rejuvenate Bio Bio has cut a “sizable portion” of its staff and made cuts to its pipeline, Endpoints News reported. A Rejuvenate spokesperson confirmed to the news organization that it was in fact making cuts, but it did not specify how many staffers would be affected by the layoffs.
June 5:
GreenLight Biosciences is laying off 96 members of staff, effective July 29, according to a WARN notice received by the state on May 31. News of the cuts comes shortly after the company announced it had agreed to be acquired by a group of buyers led by Fall Line Capital, LLC.
June 2:
Oncorus is laying off 55 employees, or “substantially all” of its workforce, according to a post-market release. The cuts include CEO Ted Ashburn, COO Stephen Harbin and CMO John Goldberg. Interim CFO Alexander Nolte will remain in order to attempt to find a buyer for the biotech before it runs out of cash.
Roche plans to sell a drug manufacturing plant in Vacaville, CA, or shut the facility down by 2029, according to an internal email sent Wednesday obtained by Reuters. The plant currently employs 800 staff members, and though Roche would not confirm any details about the timeline or number of employees affected to Reuters, it did confirm plans to sell the site.
Catalent plans to lay off 150 employees from its Bloomington, IN plant by Friday, Indiana Public Media reported, according to an internal email sent to employees. A company spokesperson told the news outlet that the cuts will mainly affect leadership and support positions, and come as part of a restructuring due to difficulty sustaining the growth the company saw during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MAY
May 31:
Rain Oncology is laying off 65% of its staff, including its chief medical officer. This news came one week after the company’s lead candidate, milademetan, fell short in a Phase III liposarcoma trial. Rain is also pausing a Phase II trial and dropping another Phase I/II trial completely, both studying milademetan.
May 24:
Takeda plans to lay off 27 employees in San Diego two weeks after giving notice of plans to lay off more than 180 employees in Massachusetts. A Takeda spokesperson told BioSpace that the cuts in California are directly related to the company’s decision to discontinue discovery and pre-clinical efforts in AAV gene therapy and in rare hematology.
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. has implemented a pipeline prioritization initiative, that includes dropping several preclinical and early-phase R&D projects in gene therapy and an 8% reduction in its workforce.
May 23:
Affimed cut about 25% of its total headcount in April, according to the company’s Q1 earnings report. These cuts came as part of a restructuring effort in which the company hopes to prioritize the three clinical programs in its pipeline.
May 19:
Urovant Sciences is laying off 22 employees, effective June 29, according to a California WARN notice filed in April and published in May. This news comes just a few weeks after the company revealed that it is being folded into its parent company, Sumitomo, along with six other sister companies.
May 16:
GeneDx, a clinical genomics and genetic testing company, is laying off 19 employees beginning May 28, according to a Connecticut WARN notice. This comes after the company cut 700 jobs last year. The most recent cuts include only remote employees, CT Insider reported.
May 11:
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc. cut 22 jobs, or 23% of its total headcount, to shift its focus to its clinical trials and extend its cash runway, the Washington Business Journal reported. The layoffs went into effect on May 9.
May 10:
Roche has cut 165 jobs in Branchburg, New Jersey—the home of its largest diagnostic operations center in the U.S. The layoffs will go into effect on July 25, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) notice filed in April.
May 9:
Novavax is cutting its global workforce by about 25%, according to its first-quarter earnings report. The layoffs include about 500 of the nearly 2,000 employees that Novavax cited in its 2022 annual report.
Gossamer Bio announced plans to lay off 25% of its workforce as part of an effort to shift its focus to its pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) candidate, which is set to enter Phase III in the third quarter of this year. The biotech stated it plans to cut all clinical and preclinical programs other than the PAH candidate.
ADC Therapeutics plans to cut about 17% of its staff—about 54 employees in total—along with two preclinical programs. This news follows disappointing sales for Zynlonta, an ADC approved to treat diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
May 8:
Takeda plans to lay off about 186 employees in Massachusetts, according to a WARN report. The cuts will affect employees in four locations across three cities in Massachusetts: Cambridge, Lexington and North Reading.
Bristol Myers Squibb plans to lay off 48 staff members from its Princeton, New Jersey, facility, according to a WARN notice filed in April. Though no other information was provided in the WARN report about which divisions will be affected, the facility houses employees from the commercial, R&D and enabling function support teams, according to the company’s website.
EQRx announced plans to cut 170 jobs and several drug candidates as part of a restructuring effort. The startup was formed to develop an affordable alternative to name-brand prescription drugs, but tight FDA regulations forced the company to pivot.
Mammoth Biosciences cut 35 jobs in March, Mammoth CEO Trevor Martin confirmed to Endpoints News. The biotech is looking to ditch its efforts in CRISPR diagnostics and shift its focus to therapeutic research.
May 4:
Selecta Biosciences announced plans to cut about 25% of its workforce as part of an effort to implement a “capital prioritization initiative,” according to its Q1 financial report. The cuts are expected to extend the company’s cash flow to the second half of 2025.
May 3:
Zymergen plans to lay off 27 members of staff in Alameda County, CA, effective June 20, according to a California WARN report. The company was acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks in July 2022, and this most recent filing marks the third round of layoffs it has implemented since.
APRIL
April 27:
Transplant Genomics has cut nine remote workers from its staff, according to a Massachusetts WARN report. The report was filed on April 27, and the layoffs went into effect the very next day.
Sumitomo plans to lay off a combined 122 members of staff from both Sumitomo Pharma America Holdings and Sumitomo Pharma Oncology in Massachusetts. It will also cut 101 jobs from subsidiary Sunovion Pharmaceuticals. This news comes one month after the pharma announced plans to consolidate its many subsidiaries into one company, Sumitomo Pharma America.
Cepheid, a company known for making rapid coronavirus tests, plans to cut 625 members of staff in the California Bay Area, according to a WARN report. This is the company’s second round of layoffs in the last six months. In November, the company announced plans to cut 925 jobs, also in the Bay Area.
Care Access, a contract research startup, has cut about half of its headcount, according to a LinkedIn post by CEO and co-founder Ahmad Namvargolian. This news comes just two months after Pfizer cut the startup from its study of a Lyme disease vaccine.
April 26:
Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to lay off 218 workers related to the closing of three facilities in San Diego, according to a WARN report. This is the third round of layoffs the company has implemented in San Diego so far this year, and this most recent round brings the total number of cuts in the area to just over 500. In March, Thermo Fisher also announced plans to close a New Jersey manufacturing site and lay off 113 employees.
Sangamo Therapeutics announced plans to layoff about 120 staff members (approximately 27% of total workforce) as part of a restructuring effort. This news comes only one month after both Novartis and Biogen ended their partnerships with the biotech.
Evelo Biosciences announced it is cutting its workforce and dropping an atopic dermatitis program in an effort to extend its cash flow. This is the company’s second round of layoffs in three months. The company did not specify how many jobs would be cut.
April 20:
Foundation Medicine, Inc., a Roche subsidiary, plans to cut about 135 members of staff, according to an April 4 blog post written by CEO Brian Alexander on the company’s website. Alexander said the layoffs are part of a decision to adopt a “leaner, more streamlined organizational structure.”
Enzyvant Therapeutics plans to lay off 20 employees in North Carolina, including some executive positions, the Triangle Business Journal reported. The WARN notice, filed April 20, stated the cuts are a “result of the integration of Enzyvant and a number of its affiliates into one new company.”
April 17:
Emerald Cloud Lab plans to lay off 30 employees from its headquarters in South San Francisco, effective April 30, according to a WARN report. These cuts could be part of the company’s plans to relocate to a new facility in Austin, TX, which is expected to open in July.
Nektar Therapeutics plans to implement a restructuring initiative that includes cutting its workforce in San Francisco by about 60%. The company said it will shift its focus to its immunology portfolio, and the cuts will help extend its cash flow to mid-2026.
April 14:
Talaris Therapeutics plans to lay off about 80 employees, including much of its C-suite. In total, the cuts include about 95% of the company’s headcount. This follows Talaris’ February decision to cut about one-third of its staff and axe two clinical trials.
April 12:
Aeglea Biotherapeutics announced plans to lay off all but about 10 members of its staff as part of a restructuring initiative. This announcement followed mixed interim data from an ongoing Phase I/II study of its classical homocystinuria candidate pegtarviliase.
Oncocyte Corporation announced plans to cut its workforce by about 20% in an effort to extend its cash flow into 2024. The company did not give a reason for the layoffs in the press release, stating only that the cuts were part of an effort to reduce costs and optimize efficiency.
GentiBio, Inc has laid off an undisclosed number of employees, CEO Adel Nada told the Boston Business Journal. The CEO called the cuts “relatively small,” and cited “a challenging biotech macroenvironment” as the reason for the cuts.
April 10:
Biogen is laying off an unspecified number of employees, according to a report published Monday by the Boston Business Journal. A Biogen spokesperson confirmed the layoffs in an email to BioSpace but declined to reveal the exact number of affected employees.
April 7:
Pear Therapeutics has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is seeking to sell off its assets, according to an SEC filing. 170 employees (about 92% of total staff) will be laid off as a result, leaving 15 employees who will continue working until the company’s assets are sold.
April 6:
Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to shutter a New Jersey manufacturing facility and cut 113 members of staff as a result, according to a WARN report filed in March. This is the third round of layoffs the company has announced this year. Since February, it has cut over 350 staff members, all from manufacturing facilities in San Diego.
LumiraDx, a diagnostics testing solutions company, announced plans to initiate a restructuring program that includes cutting its headcount by about 40%. The company expects to save about $36 million a year as a result.
April 3:
NGM Biopharmaceuticals is implementing a restructuring initiative that includes cutting 75 employees, which make up about 33% of the company’s total workforce, according to an SEC filing. CEO David Woodhouse stated the cuts are related to the Phase II CATALINA trial failure in October 2022.
MARCH
March 31:
Molecular Templates is cutting about half of its staff, leaving it with just over 100 employees, according to an SEC filing. The layoffs are the result of an effort to narrow its pipeline to only three programs and a preclinical partnership with BMS.
March 28:
Alector plans to cut about 30 members of staff to focus its resources on research. In an SEC filing, the company stated this will allow it to prioritize its immuno-neurology programs.
Applied Molecular Transport, Inc. (AMT) is slashing its workforce by approximately 57%, according to a March 28 announcement. Tahir Mahmood, Ph.D. will step down as CEO and be replaced by President and COO Shawn Cross.
Satsuma Pharmaceuticals announced plans to lay off 36% of its staff, starting March 31. effective this Friday. This comes after the company announced results from a Phase III trial studying its migraine treatment, STS101, and submitted an NDA to the FDA earlier this month.
9 Meters Biopharma announced it is cutting about half of its workforce in an effort to extend its cash runway. The announcement came as part of its fourth-quarter financial report.
March 23
Merck KGaA‘s EMD Serono plans to cut six members of staff research center in Billerica, MA, beginning May 22, according to a Massachusetts WARN report. In January, the company announced plans to cut 133 employees from the same location as part of a plan to prioritize R&D and rely more heavily on its partnerships for drug development.
Genentech, Inc. plans to close a production facility in South San Francisco, CA. As a result, 271 employees will be laid off, according to the WARN report.
March 20
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is closing its research facility in San Diego, CA and laying off 89 employees as a result. According to a WARN notice filed with the state of California, the layoffs will be effective May 26.
Evofem Biosciences is cutting eight staff members just four months after cutting 39 jobs. The company also plans to cut its CEO’s salary by 40% in an effort to save cash.
March 16
Amgen is cutting 450 members of its workforce, according to a Reuters report. This is Amgen’s second round of layoffs this year; the first, in January, included 300 members of staff.
March 15:
Vaxart, Inc. plans to reorganize its pipeline to prioritize its oral norovirus vaccine program and push back clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine. The reorganization includes cutting about 27% of staff in an effort to extend cash flow into 2024.
March 9:
Olema Oncology announced it is shifting its focus to advancing OP-1250, a treatment for ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer, into Phase III. The restructuring will include cutting about 25% of its workforce.
March 8:
Neoleukin Therapeutics announced it is reviewing strategic alternatives that could include a sale, merger, divestiture of assets, licensing or other strategic transaction. As a result, the company is cutting 70% of its workforce in the first half of 2023.
March 7:
Thermo Fisher Scientific is laying off 154 people in San Diego, according to a WARN report. This news comes just one month after it announced plans to lay off 230 employees at three manufacturing sites in San Diego. The company cited reduced demand for COVID-19 testing kits as the reason for both rounds of cuts.
March 6:
atai Life Sciences announced it has cut staff by about 30% as part of a in order to extend its cash runway into the first half of 2026. The company stated the decision came after a strategic review of its pipeline in an effort to enhance efficiency and narrow its focus.
Coherus BioSciences announced in its fourth-quarter report that it has cut about 60 full-time and part-time employees from its payroll as part of a restructuring initiative. The company’s operating expenses for this year are nearly $100 million lower than those projected in April 2022.
March 2:
MorphoSys AG plans to drop its pre-clinical programs and cut 17% of its workforce to extend its cash runway. The cuts will take place at the company’s Planegg headquarters, and a total of 70 employees will lose their jobs.
March 1:
Novo Nordisk is laying off 86 employees in Seattle, effective May 1, according to a WARN notice. A spokesperson told GeekWire that the company is shuttering its Seattle-based wet lab operations, but that it will continue its efforts in digital therapy, data science and AI in the area.
G1 Therapeutics released its full-year 2022 financial report that stated it has cut its headcount by about 30% to reduce operating expenses in 2023. This comes two weeks after the biotech ended a late-stage study of its lead candidate in colorectal cancer, causing shares to plunge 50%.
FEBRUARY
Feb. 28:
Theravance Biopharma is discontinuing research activities for its JAK inhibitor program in lung inflammation and reducing its headcount by about 17%. The strategic realignment folows a letter from one of Theravance’s largest shareholders, Irenic Capital, urging the company to review its governance structure and reassess its business strategies.
Feb. 24:
ObsEva, a women’s health biotech based in Switzerland, is cutting several staff members from its executive team in the U.S. and its board of directors. These cuts include the company’s CEO, CMO and several others.
Feb. 22:
Graphite Bio announced it is discontinuing the development of nulabeglogene autogedtemcel (nula-cel), its lead asset. Simultaneously, the Bay Area biotech is launching a corporate restructuring program that will shave off about 50% of its workforce.
Impel Pharmaceuticals is implementing a restructuring initiative that includes cutting staff by 16%. It plans to drop its INP105 treatment for acute agitation and aggression in autism spectrum disorder and focus on developing its Trudhesa nasal spray.
Jounce Therapeutics announced plans to merge its business in an all-stock deal with clinical-stage biotech Redx Pharma. This news came one day after the biotech announced a restructuring plan that included cutting 57% of staff.
Feb. 21:
National Resilience Inc. announced plans to sell a manufacturing site in Marlborough, MA and scale back operations at another in Allston, MA. The decision will result in about 213 job cuts in total.
Aileron Therapeutics announced it plans to drop its its lead candidate, ALRN-6924, after it did not meet the primary or secondary endpoints in a Phase 1b trial studying the candidate in breast cancer patients. As a result, the company will cut its staff from nine employees to three.
Feb. 15:
Grifols announced a comprehensive plan to save money and resources that will result in 2,000 U.S. job cuts. The company stated its goal is to save approximately $428 million USD in 2023.
Feb. 13:
Frequency Therapeutics is cutting 55% of its workforce due to its decision to drop all programs designed to treat Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL). This comes after its candidate, FX-322, did not meet the primary endpoint in SNHL patients in a Phase IIb trial.
Feb. 9:
Eliem Therapeutics is dropping a depression drug candidate that was heading into Phase II and laying off 55% of staff in an attempt to stretch its cash runway into 2027.
Feb. 8:
Aligos Therapeutics announced it has implemented a pipeline reprioritization resulting in a staff reduction of about 25%. The biotech will now prioritize its NASH and COVID-19 assets, including its NASH collaboration with Merck.
Feb. 6:
Thermo Fisher Scientific will cut a total of 230 jobs at three sites in San Diego County, CA. This comes after the pharma reported a significant drop in sales of its COVID-19 tests in 2022.
Magenta Therapeutics is cutting up to 56 positions from its workforce - about 84% of its total staff - according to a filing with the SEC. This comes days after the biotech suspended the development of its clinical programs after a patient’s death halted a Phase I/II trial.
Feb. 3:
Eisai Inc. filed a WARN notice with the state of New Jersey that stated it plans to cut 91 jobs. The job cuts will be effective on April 30.
Vyant Bio announced plans to cut its workforce in an attempt to extend its cash runway, though the announcement did not specify how many jobs would be cut. The decision is due to leadership’s belief that “its stock price does not reflect the fundamental value of the business.”
Medicago, a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine developer, announced it will shut its doors due to a slowdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows the company’s November announcement that it planned to lay off 62 employees at a North Carolina manufacturing facility.
Feb. 1:
Evelo Biosciences announced it has implemented cost-saving initiatives that include an unspecified amount of job cuts. In the same announcement, the company also stated its atopic dermatitis candidate, EDP1815, did not meet its primary endpoint in a Phase II trial.
JANUARY
Jan. 31:
Instil Bio plans to cut its staff to just 15 employees in an attempt to extend its cash runway through 2026. This additional reduction follows the company’s December announcement that it planned to cut staff by 60%.
INOVIO announced plans to reorganize its pipeline to prioritize “operational efficiency” and cut staff by 11%. By cutting several programs, the company expects to save about $3.4 million.
Jan. 30:
Quince Therapeutics plans to reprioritize its pipeline and lay off 47% of its staff, according to an SEC filing. The new strategy follows the company’s decision to sell its protease inhibitor portfolios.
Amgen is implementing organizational changes that include laying off approximately 300 team members to “better manage against industry headwinds,” a company spokesperson confirmed to BioSpace. The job cuts will mainly affect Amgen’s commercial team and will involve employees based in the U.S., the spokesperson said.
Jan. 24:
Finch Therapeutics announced it plans to discontinue the Phase III trial of its main asset, a bacterial infection drug dubbed CP101. As a result, it will cut about 95% of its workforce. Finch cited a lack of funding and partnerships to develop the drug as the reason behind the decision.
Jan. 23:
Merck KGaA‘s EMD Serono plans to cut 133 members of staff at its research center in Billerica, MA. This comes a few months after the biotech announced it planned to prioritize R&D and rely more heavily on its partnerships for drug development.
Jan. 19:
ReNeuron announced plans to restructure and cut staff by 40% as in an effort to stretch its cash flow until 2024. This comes two weeks after Catherine Isted resigned from her role as CEO.
Cyteir Therapeutics announced a restructuring initiative focused on prioritizing CYT-0851, an investigational monocarboxylate transporter inhibitor being studied in ovarian cancer. The shift will result in a 70% reduction in staff.
Jan. 12:
Akili Interactive Labs announced that due to the recent shift in the economic environment, it will reduce its staff immediately by approximately 30%, cutting 46 employees in total.
Jan. 11:
Verily Life Sciences, a unit of Alphabet Inc. formerly known as Google Life Sciences, plans to undergo a restructuring that includes cutting about 15% of its workforce - over 200 jobs in total.
Abzena laid off 66 employees from its San Diego, CA location, according to a WARN notice filed with the state of California.
Jan. 9:
Calithera Biosciences’ board of directors has decided to dissolve the company and liquidate its assets, and most employees will be let go by the end of Q1. In 2021, Calithera bought two Phase II cancer assets from Takeda in an attempt to bounce back, but it announced in November that data from the assets had been delayed.
Editas Medicine announced it has cut 20% of staff, including Chief Scientific Officer Mark Shearman, Ph.D, in a pipeline reorganization. This follows the company’s November announcement that it planned to press pause on its lead asset, EDIT-101, due to disappointing data.
Jan. 6:
Elevation Oncology has cut 30% of its staff, including CEO Shawn Leland. As part of the restructuring, Elevation has also decided to shelf seribantumab, its solid tumor therapy.
Jan. 5:
Century Therapeutics announced it plans to lay off 25% of its staff in order to extend cash flow for three candidates: CNTY-101 and CNTY-102 for B-cell malignancies and CNTY-107 for solid tumors.
Jan. 4:
Y-mAbs Therapeutics stated it will implement a restructuring plan that includes reducing its workforce by 35% by the end of May. The biotech stated it plans to prioritize Danyelza, its treatment for relapsed/refractory, high-risk neuroblastoma.
DECEMBER 2022
Dec. 15:
Athenex Pharma Solutions filed a WARN notice with the state of New York stating it plans to close a production facility in Clarence, NY, laying off 92 employees as a result. The company stated the decision was due to financial difficulty, though it did not specify the cause.
Axcella Therapeutics announced that in an effort to reprioritize its resources, it will prioritize its Long COVID program and slash its headcount by 85%.
Dec. 9:
TherapeuticsMD, Inc. filed a notice with the state of Florida that stated it plans to lay off its entire workforce, totaling 212 employees.
Dec. 8:
Instil Bio announced it is discontinuing the development of its unmodified tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapeutic, ITIL-168, and laying off 60% of its staff.
