Entrada is paring back its research staff even as it gears up to hire employees to support a planned clinical trial for a Duchenne muscular dystrophy candidate.
As it focuses resources on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) clinical candidates and key preclinical programs, Entrada Therapeutics disclosed layoff and hiring plans in an April 29 SEC filing. Although the biotech will hire to support a planned global clinical trial for Duchenne, research staff will also be reduced, affecting about 20% of its workforce.
The Boston-based biotech, which focuses on intracellular therapeutics, had 183 full-time employees as of Feb. 20, according to another SEC filing, meaning the cuts could affect about 37 people. Entrada expects to mostly complete the layoffs by the end of the second quarter and to incur about $2 million in related expenses. The company also noted in its April 29 filing that it should be able to maintain its current cash runway into the second quarter of 2027.
News of the layoffs comes just over two months after Entrada announced the FDA had removed a clinical hold on DMD candidate ENTR-601-44, the biotech’s exon 44 skipping oligonucleotide. The agency issued that hold in December 2022. Entrada did not provide a reason for the FDA’s decision at that time.
In announcing the agency had lifted the hold, the biotech shared it will move forward with a Phase Ib clinical trial of ENTR-601-44 in patients with a confirmed mutation in the DMD gene amenable to exon 44 skipping. The company plans to start enrolling study participants in the first half of 2026.
Entrada is also prioritizing accelerating three other DMD clinical candidates, ocular programs and maturing platform investments, according to the April 29 filing.
In a recent earnings announcement, the biotech noted positive financial results. It had a net income of $65.6 million for 2024, compared to a net loss of $6.7 million in 2023. Entrada also had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $420 million as of Dec. 31, 2024, compared to $352 million at the end of 2023.
