Layoffs
Six biotechs based in California, Massachusetts, Washington and Denmark had to halt drug development efforts this year. One of their CEOs is now in an interim chief executive role at another biotech.
Replimune is axing 144 employees at its Woburn headquarters and 80 at its Framingham manufacturing site. The cuts follow the FDA’s second rejection of the biotech’s advanced melanoma candidate.
The trend of fewer companies letting employees go, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, has continued. However, more employees were on the chopping block in Q1 2026 than in Q1 2025, due mainly to one company’s cuts.
By closing the Universal Cells Seattle location, Astellas is reportedly consolidating cell therapy, gene therapy and oncology research at its South San Francisco, California, and Westborough, Massachusetts, sites.
In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s Vice President of Marketing Chantal Dresner and Careers Editor Angela Gabriel take a look at Q1 job market performance and what it signals for the coming months.
As Novo Nordisk cuts 400 jobs at the troubled site, Scholar Rock has seen enough progress that it included the facility in a resubmission for FDA approval.
The FDA advised IO Biotech last year to hold off on filing an approval application for its cancer vaccine Cylembio, pointing to a failed Phase 3 study in frontline advanced melanoma. The biotech has now gone under.
Takeda’s layoffs include cutting 247 people in Massachusetts. The workforce reduction is meant to help offset investments in areas including a product launch for oral drug candidate zasocitinib, for which the pharma today announced positive Phase 3 data.
Gossamer Bio reported last month that its only late-stage candidate failed a Phase 3 study in pulmonary arterial hypertension, casting doubt on the asset’s future prospects.
Last month, for the first time in nearly four years, average job postings live on BioSpace did not decline year over year. In another encouraging sign, the number of biopharmas letting employees go fell.
PRESS RELEASES
