Arbutus is also exiting its corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania and will terminate all in-house scientific research. The company’s focus is now an RNAi asset for hepatitis B.
Arbutus Biopharma is letting go of 57% of its staff, bringing the Pennsylvania biotech down to a “core team” of 19 employees who will focus on its hepatitis B program, according to a press announcement on Thursday.
Arbutus is also terminating all in-house scientific research and will leave its corporate headquarters in Warminster. In line with the reorganization, the biotech expects to absorb one-time costs of around $11 million to $13 million in the first quarter. Arbutus is also thinning out its masthead: chief financial officer David Hastings, chief medical officer Karen Sims and chief compliance officer Christopher Naftzger will all be stepping down from their leadership roles.
It is unclear how much Arbutus expects to save from these strategic moves but CEO Lindsay Androski noted in a statement on Thursday that they will help “improve our financial and operational efficiency.”
To replace Hastings, Arbutus on Thursday named Tuan Nguyen as its new CFO, whose appointment “reinforces our renewed focus on advancing our pipeline efficiently and delivering value to patients and our stakeholders,” Androski said.
Arbutus’ lead asset is imdusiran, an investigational RNA interference therapeutic that specifically targets liver cells and works by lowering hepatitis B viral protein and antigens. Phase IIa data from the IM-PROVE I trial in November 2024 showed that imdusiran, in combination with other drugs, elicited a 25% functional cure rate after six doses.
According to its Thursday release, Arbutus is “reviewing development plans” for pushing imdusiran into Phase IIb, including looking for ways to potentially accelerate its timeline.
Arbutus is also working on an oral PD-L1 blocker, dubbed AB-101, which it is developing for chronic hepatitis B. The asset is currently in a Phase Ia/Ib trial that is mostly assessing its safety and tolerability. The biotech has moved forward with the third part of this early study, looking at repeated doses of AB-101. It has yet to disclose next steps for the asset.
As of the end of 2024, Arbutus had $122.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, down from a cash position of $132.3 million the year prior, according to the company’s statement. With its reorganization on Thursday, the biotech “expects to significantly reduce its net cash burn” this year, though it did not provide guidance on how long it expects its runway to last.
