Vedanta is parting ways with 23 employees, or approximately 20% of its headcount, after Phase II data for microbiome therapy VE202 failed to demonstrate significant response rates in patients with ulcerative colitis.
Thursday was a “difficult” day for Vedanta Biosciences, CEO Bernat Olle wrote in a LinkedIn post, noting the company’s failed Phase II study for its investigational bacterial consortium candidate VE202 in ulcerative colitis—and the need to tell a fifth of its workforce that they no longer have jobs.
Vedanta did not provide specific data in a press announcement on Wednesday, only noting that the mid-stage COLLECTiVE202 study did not detect significant improvements in endoscopic and clinical response after VE202 treatment. The biotech continues to evaluate bacterial colonization outcomes, histological findings and immune responses, which will be shared at upcoming scientific meetings.
“Drug development rarely follows a straight path. You can do the right science, run the right study, and still be humbled by the complexities of human biology,” Olle wrote on LinkedIn.
Despite VE202’s failure, “the hardest part of today was telling around 20% of our team in one-on-one meetings that their roles are being cut,” Olle continued. In an interview with Endpoints News, Olle clarified that this workforce reduction will affect 23 employees.
With VE202’s mid-stage stumble, Vedanta will remain focused on its two other microbiome-based candidates. Leading the pipeline is VE303, an oral drug candidate made up of eight strains of commensal bacteria currently being tested for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Phase II data, published in 2023 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that the drug could cut the risk of CDI recurrence by over 80% versus placebo.
VE303 strains also colonized the gut in a dose-dependent manner, which in turn was associated with clinical response.
Follow-on analysis published in Nature Medicine in January 2025 additionally demonstrated that VE303 helps restore a healthy gut microbial community, in turn tamping down on inflammation and increasing the levels of protective metabolites to prevent recurrent CDI. VE303 is currently in Phase III development and Vedanta is enrolling patients into the RESTORATiVE303 registrational trial.
The biotech is also advancing VE707, which is preclinical testing for Gram-negative infections, including those that involve resistant strains. The drug candidate works by decolonizing pathologic Gram-negative bacteria, including Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Vedanta on Thursday said that it expects an investigational new drug submission for VE707 in the first half of 2026.
Vedanta was created by PureTech Health, a biotech company creator that boasts a drug discovery engine that has led to three product approvals. Other entities in the PureTech universe include Seaport Therapeutics and Karuna Therapeutics, the latter of which was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb for $14 billion in December 2023.
