“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
“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
“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
“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.”
Paused trials of rusfertide in additional indications: “In keeping with our organizational prioritization of rusfertide in PV, plans to initiate trials of rusfertide in additional disease indications have been paused. This decision was influenced in part by the recent enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and includes previously planned trials of rusfertide in the subset of hereditary hemochromatosis patients with chronic arthropathy”
1 Discontinued Drug: rusfertide (biologic)
1 Discontinued Research Program
