Just days after announcing it was exploring strategic alternatives for the business after ending development of its lead asset, Fulcrum Therapeutics is cutting 85% of its workforce, according to an SEC filing. The Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech will lay off 48 of its 57 employees as part of a restructuring plan approved May 31 meant to significantly reduce operating expenses and preserve capital. Fulcrum informed staff on June 4.
The company announced June 1 it is discontinuing development of pociredir in sickle cell disease, as it no longer sees a viable regulatory path for the drug. Fulcrum noted that the FDA had recently raised concerns regarding pociredir’s benefit-risk profile in that indication.
The biotech expects to mostly complete its layoffs during the second quarter. Fulcrum estimated it will incur about $4.2 million in costs in connection with its restructuring plan, consisting mostly of severance, benefits and related expenses.