Layoffs
The headcount reduction will save money that the company will use in developing mavorixafor, its CXCR4 antagonist that last year received FDA approval to treat WHIM syndrome, in the larger patient population with chronic neutropenia.
Bristol Myers Squibb will make even deeper cuts to its organization to enhance efficiencies as it faces the 2028 loss of exclusivity for its blockbuster drugs Eliquis and Opdivo.
Most employers are expecting to hire this year, according to BioSpace data and Recruitment Manager Greg Clouse, who noted that companies are looking to do more than just replace people lost to turnover.
ImmunityBio will part with 10 employees this quarter. Last fall, it cut 31 employees. The moves come as the biotech works to advance Anktiva in non-small cell lung cancer.
Fractyl Health is deprioritizing a type 2 diabetes trial in favor of a pivotal study of its endoscopy treatment Revita and parting with around 22 employees in an attempt to extend its runway into 2026.
CAR T–focused biotech Cargo Therapeutics surprised and disappointed analysts when it announced that it would discontinue a mid-stage trial of its lead program, firi-cel.
The layoffs will allow Ironwood to dedicate more resources to pushing its lead molecule apraglutide through a Phase III trial and a rolling NDA submission.
The layoffs follow an announcement in early January that I-Mab will re-prioritize resources to focus on advancing a CLDN18.2 and 4-1BB bispecific antibody for gastric cancers.
The move is part of a strategic restructuring aimed at getting azenosertib to the market for patients with gynecological malignancies.
Atara Biotherapeutics’ layoffs could leave the biotech with around 80 employees. The cuts follow news that the FDA rejected Ebvallo, a T cell therapy approved in Europe for a transplant-related blood cancer, and placed a clinical hold on the company’s active drug applications.
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