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.
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
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.”
Charles Rivers Laboratories
Layoffs
Wilmington, MA
10,001-50,000 employees
“One of Massachusetts’ major life science companies, Charles River Laboratories Inc., has revealed new details on its ongoing cost-savings initiatives, stating in an earnings call that it’s “already generating significant savings.”
The Wilmington-based company revealed a strategic turnaround plan in Q4 of 2023, announcing it would cut more than 6% of its workforce, and has continued to reduce staffing levels through Q3 of 2024, the Boston Business Journal reported.”
Alnylam
Discontinued Drug, Discontinued Research
Cambridge, MA
1,001-5,000 employees
“Today announced the decision to suspend further clinical development of ALN-KHK, an investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting ketohexokinase for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. This decision reflects portfolio prioritization efforts to allocate clinical, managerial and financial resources carefully to bring transformative medicines to patients.”
1 Discontinued Drug: ALN-KHK (biologic)
1 Discontinued Research Program
Pfizer
Negative Outlook
New York, NY
50,001+ employees
Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer:
“Clearly, IRA overall is negative for innovation and does not promote a spirit that people could provide investments, but there are also some good things about it. So clearly, I wouldn’t like to see that the out-of-pocket that next year will be $167 per month for all your medicines for seniors.
“That, we want to be maintained. But this forced price setting is not a negotiation and also the penalty deal between — are things that needs to change.”
Sanofi
Negative Outlook
Paris, France
50,001+ employees
Brian Foard — Global Business Unit Head, Specialty Care:
“I think from an environment standpoint, the Inflation Reduction Act, there’s a couple of things in there. And as we’ve said before, our position is, it’s not really good for innovation just in general, the Inflation Reduction Act.”
Takeda
Layoffs
Cambridge, MA
10,001-50,000 employees
“Takeda is laying off dozens of employees in Massachusetts, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) alert filed with the state late last week. The layoff process kicked off in late September and will run through March of next year, according to state records.
“While the WARN alert states that 79 employees across the two sites are set to face cuts, the final number “is not clear at this time” and will depend on potential “redeployment opportunities,” according to a detailed filing cited by Boston Business Journal.”
