In addition to cutting most of its staff, including two C-suite executives, Leap Therapeutics is winding down research and development activities and considering a sale or partnership opportunities.
Roughly a month after sharing that it would cut about half of its workforce, Leap Therapeutics has announced it will axe 75% of its staff over the next two months. The Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech is also winding down research and development activities and exploring strategic options that could include a sale, according to a June 23 SEC filing.
The latest cuts affect 75% of the workforce, according to the filing, and will be carried out over two phases: one on or about June 30 and the second on or about July 31. The first round will include the departure of Augustine Lawlor, chief operating officer, while the second will include the exit of Cyndi Sirard, chief medical officer. Based on Leap having 52 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, according to its annual report, and the May cuts detailed in a May 13 SEC filing, the company could have fewer than 10 employees once the layoffs are complete.
In its June 23 announcement, Leap reported updated results from Part B of its DeFianCe study. The Phase II clinical trial studied DKK1 antibody sirexatamab in combination with bevacizumab and chemotherapy in patients with advanced microsatellite stable colorectal cancer who have received one prior systemic therapy for advanced disease. Although the company noted positive results, it shared that due to market conditions, it had decided to wind down the trial. It also divulged that it was exploring strategic options that could include not only a sale but also partnership opportunities for sirexatamab as well as for anti-GDF-15 antibody FL-501.
Leap cited the challenging market environment in May as well, when it announced it was cutting about half of its workforce to help focus resources on sirexatamab. Leap made the announcement alongside its first-quarter 2025 earnings report, where it posted a net loss of $15.4 million. During the same period in 2024, the company was operating with a $13.8 million deficit. Leap pointed to heightened research and development expenses as the reason for the increase in its loss.
The biotech’s cash and cash equivalents totaled about $23.3 million as of May 31, down from $32.7 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31. The total cash payments and costs related to the latest layoffs, including severance payments, are estimated at about $3.2 million. Most of the costs will be recognized in the third quarter.
