Following a disappointing IPO and the loss of Moderna’s gene editing contract, Metagenomi’s Chief Scientific Officer Luis Borges is departing the biotech.
Metagenomi Chief Scientific Officer Luis Borges has left the California-based biotech, according to a message posted on LinkedIn last week.
Borges wrote that he has “parted ways with Metagenomi by mutual agreement,” noting that his time with the company “has been incredibly valuable.” Borges spent eight months with the biotech after being appointed in November 2023. He had previously been at Cell Medica and Century Therapeutics, serving as CSO for both companies.
Metagenomi launched its bid to start trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market during Borges’ tenure, initially aiming for an $86.9 million raise. Ultimately, the biotech put 6.25 million of its shares up for sale at $15 apiece for an initial public offering (IPO) of nearly $94 million.
The market was not impressed, however, and Metagenomi’s stocks crashed nearly 31% on the day of its debut. The biotech has recently been trading at around $5.
Metagenomi currently has no clinical-stage candidates, and its IPO highlights the difficulties preclinical biotechs may face should they seek to go public. The biotech is banking its business on what it calls “the most diverse genome editing toolbox,” which it envisions will be “capable of correcting any type of genetic mutation found anywhere in the genome.”
Despite its relatively young pipeline, Metagenomi is backed by several high-profile supporters, including Bayer, which led its $275 million Series B fundraising round in January 2023. A few months earlier, in November 2022, Metagenomi entered into a gene editing partnership with Ionis, which could potentially lead to a $3 billion haul for the biotech.
Borges’ departure comes months after Moderna backed out of its own gene editing contract with Metagenomi. In May 2024, the mRNA specialist announced that it would return full global rights to the primary hyperoxaluria type 1 program to Metagenomi, along with other base editors and RNA-mediated integration systems.
The termination was “mutually agreed” upon by the two companies, Metagenomi announced at the time, although it noted that the change was prompted by a strategic prioritization by Moderna, which will stay on as a shareholder of the biotech.
In the first quarter of 2024, Metagenomi announced that it had $327.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, including its IPO raise. The biotech is also preparing to nominate a development candidate for its hemophilia A program by mid-2024.
