Passage Bio’s workforce reduction could affect about 32 people, leaving the company with 26 employees as it continues evaluating a treatment for frontotemporal dementia with granulin mutations.
To help extend its cash runway into the first quarter of 2027, Passage Bio will slash its workforce by about 55%, the clinical-stage genetic medicines company announced Friday. In an SEC filing, the Philadelphia-based business noted it expects to incur associated severance and exit costs of about $2 million primarily during the second quarter, indicating the staff cuts will happen quickly.
Passage had 58 employees as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to a March SEC filing, meaning the cuts could affect about 32 people, leaving the company with 26 employees. The business has two locations, one in Philadelphia and another in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. It did not say whether the workforce reduction will affect both sites.
The company’s other business moves include transitioning to an outsourced analytical testing model following an assessment of its operating needs to support advancement of its PBFT02 program, according to the announcement.
Alongside the staff cuts, Passage also reported updated data from its ongoing Phase I/II upliFT-D clinical trial evaluating PBFT02 in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with granulin (GRN) mutations. Passage President and CEO Will Chou shared that Dose 1 PBFT02 consistently increased cerebrospinal fluid progranulin expression, indicating early signals of improvement in a disease progression biomarker when compared to published natural history data. To support future discussions with health authorities regarding a registrational pathway, Chou said the company will introduce Dose 2 and share additional data in the second half of 2025.
Passage has also completed process development and scale-up of a high-productivity, suspension-based manufacturing process for PBFT02, which has improved yield and the promise of a lower cost of goods, according to the announcement.
