News Updates
Incubate’s Investment Tracker measures the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act’s healthcare provisions on the life sciences ecosystem, with special attention to the impacts of the small molecule penalty.
Bristol Myers Squibb
Layoffs
Princeton, NJ
10,001-50,000 employees
Bristol Myers Squibb will lay off 57 workers from its Redwood City, California facility next month, according to a WARN notice filed on February 26. The latest layoff, first reported by Fierce Pharma, is part of a billion-plus-dollar cost-cutting program announced last year and expanded last month. BMS laid off more than two thousand employees in 2024 in total. According to BMS’ website, its Redwood City R&D campus is focused on the tumor microenvironment.
ALX Oncology
Layoffs
San Francisco, CA
51-200 employees
ALX Oncology, a Bay Area biotech firm currently running clinical trials for its anticancer therapy, announced Wednesday that it’s laying off about 30% of its staff.
Kojin Therapeutics
Discontinued Research
Boston, MA
1-50 employees
“Kojin Therapeutics will be restructuring and winding down its operations in the coming months. Since last year, with a new leadership team in place, we have made striking progress in developing first-in-class, small-molecule, ferroptosis inducers for potential use in patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases. However, obtaining sufficient funding to propel these programs forward into IND-enabling studies and clinical trials has proven difficult to achieve.”
1 Discontinued Research Program
Takeda
Discontinued Research
Cambridge, MA
10,001-50,000 employees
The clinical trial titled “A Study of TAK-951 in Participants With Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS)” (NCT06768658), sponsored by Takeda, was terminated due to business reasons before enrolling any participants. Specific details regarding these business reasons were not disclosed.
1 Discontinued Research Program
University of Rochester Medical Center
Discontinued Research
Rochester, NY
1-50 employees
The APATIT-G study was a pilot clinical trial conducted by the University of Rochester to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of avatrombopag in treating thrombocytopenia caused by temozolomide in glioma patients. However, the study was terminated by the sponsor before it could be completed.
1 Discontinued Research Program
IGM Biosciences
Discontinued Drug, Discontinued Research, Layoffs
Mountain View, CA
201-500 employees
“Staff cuts will leave IGM Biosciences with 37 employees. The company is also halting development of two bispecific antibody T cell engagers for autoimmune diseases.
IGM Biosciences is cutting 73% of its workforce and stopping development of two autoimmune drug candidates, the biotech announced Jan. 9…
Regarding its pipeline, IGM is halting work on imvotamab and IGM-2644, bispecific antibody T cell engagers for autoimmune diseases. In the company’s announcement, IGM CEO Mary Beth Harler said interim data from Phase Ib studies of imvotamab in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus showed that the depth and consistency of B cell depletion didn’t meet the biotech’s bar for success. She noted that IGM would discontinue IGM-2644 due to strategic considerations.
The biotech is also considering its next business move so it can maximize shareholder value, in part by evaluating “internal options as well as potential strategic alternatives,” according to the release, which stated that IGM has about $183.8 million in cash and investments as of Dec. 31.”
1 Discontinued Drug: IGM-2644, bispecific antibody T cell engager for autoimmune diseases
1 Discontinued Research Program
Galapagos
Discontinued Research, Layoffs
Cambridge, MA
1,001-5,000 employees
“To advance its goal of becoming a global leader in cell therapy in oncology, Galapagos plans to discontinue its small molecule discovery programs and seek potential partners to take over its small molecules’ assets, including the TYK2 inhibitor, GLPG3667, currently in Phase 2 for systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, and other potential auto-immune indications.”
2 Discontinued Research Programs
Belharra Therapeutics
Layoffs
San Diego, CA
1-50 employees
“San Diego startup Belharra Therapeutics, a biotech creating small molecule cancer and immunology medicines, has laid off 21 employees, Endpoints News has confirmed…
The employee cuts are expected to allow Belharra to extend its runway to achieve “key inflection points” while alleviating capital raise pressures, according to a spokesperson’s emailed statement to Endpoints. That spokesperson also wrote that the biotech will continue advancing its lead programs and working with partners Genentech and Sanofi.”
AmplifyBio
Layoffs
West Jefferson, OH
201-500 employees
“AmplifyBio is cutting costs, closing its R&D and characterization services site in South San Francisco and laying off employees in its Ohio-based preclinical CRO business, a company spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Biotech in an email.”
Epizyme
Discontinued Research
Boston, MA
51-200 employees
Epizyme, Inc. has terminated its study of tazemetostat with enzalutamide or abiraterone/prednisone in participants with advanced prostate cancer (CELLO-1) due to a sponsor decision unrelated to safety concerns.
1 Discontinued Research Program
