Fractyl Health is deprioritizing a type 2 diabetes trial in favor of a pivotal study of its endoscopy treatment Revita and parting with around 22 employees in an attempt to extend its runway into 2026.
Fractyl Health is making some adjustments. The metabolic therapeutics company announced Friday it will prioritize a pivotal clinical trial aimed at weight maintenance post-GLP-1 withdrawal while shuttering another trial and laying off 17% off its workforce.
According to an SEC filing, the layoffs amount to 22 people out of Fractyl’s current 129 employees. The savings, following $1.8 million paid out in severance and other related fees, will extend the company’s runway into 2026, according to the news release.
Fractyl has two main products in development—an endoscopy treatment called Revita designed to the resurface the lining of the duodenum, and an AAV gene therapy called Rejuva, which aims to modify pancreatic cells to restore GLP-1 pathway function in islet cells. The company cites Revita as an “off-ramp” to injectable GLP-1 treatments for obesity and diabetes.
Fractyl’s shift in priorities means it is pausing development of Revita and its associated REVITALIZE-1 trial in type 2 diabetes and focusing on Revita’s pivotal REMAIN-1 trial in weight maintenance post-GLP-1 withdrawal, along with Rejuva, which is set to initiate first-in-human studies in this first half of this year.
The company had expected to release topline data from REVITALIZE-1 sometime in mid-2025, with midline data from REMAIN-1 coming Q2 2025.
“By prioritizing REMAIN-1 and advancing our groundbreaking Rejuva gene therapy platform, we are channeling our resources toward what we believe are the most impactful and differentiated opportunities,” co-founder and CEO Harith Rajagopalan said in a statement.
The news comes almost exactly a year after Fractyl’s raised about $110 million in an initial public offering. The past year has been a mixed bag for the company. After the IPO, the company secured Investigational Device Exemption from the FDA for Revita, while at the same time posting losses of $13.2 million in Q2 2024 and $23.2 million in Q3.
