The layoffs are intended to help provide an operating runway into the fourth quarter of 2026.
Another San Diego biotech has laid off employees, as 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 the workforce reduction, 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.
Regarding second-quarter performance, Boundless President and CEO Zachary Hornby noted in a press release that the company continued to advance its first clinical-stage ecDNA-directed therapy (ecDTx), BBI-355, and received approval of its novel ecDNA diagnostic, ECHO, as a clinical trial assay in its BBI-355 POTENTIATE trial. However, he added, the number of patients enrolled in the combination cohorts of the BBI-355 POTENTIATE trial is lower than originally projected.
“While we implement measures to accelerate enrollment, we have chosen to scale back our early discovery efforts and streamline our operations to extend our runway and help ensure we have the necessary capital for our core ecDTx programs,” Hornby stated in the press release. “Moving forward, we believe we are well-positioned to move our lead programs through initial clinical proof-of-concept data readouts and remain steadfast in advancing this innovative approach for patients with high unmet need.”
The forced reduction comes about five months after Boundless announced plans to go public. Shortly after, it detailed its initial public offering pricing would be $16 per share, and the company would put 6.25 million shares of its common stock up for sale to generate $100 million in gross proceeds. According to the Aug. 12 filing, the sale resulted in net proceeds of approximately $87.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commission and other offering expenses.
