RTX-224

Rubius Therapeutics plans to initiate a large restructuring initiative, which includes laying off 84% of its staff and a possible sale, the company announced Wednesday. In the company’s Form 8-K filing with the SEC, Rubius stated that its board of directors approved a plan to "review strategic alternatives, including a sale or merger of the Company or one or more sales of its assets." The filing also stated Rubius will significantly and immediately reduce operations and has terminated 42 employees. In 2018, Rubius launched one of that year’s biggest biotech initial public offerings (IPOs). Rubius Therapeutics declined BioSpace's request for comment. This marks the second time this year the company has made a major pivot. In mid-September, the company announced it was restructuring to focus on its Red Cell Therapeutics technology. At the time, Rubius indicated it would terminate 75% of its staff. And in 2020, Rubius made a strategic decision to reprioritize its focus on its RED Platform, minimizing its focus on rare diseases and instead targeting its resources on cancer and autoimmune diseases. At the time, Rubius said its technology platform was used to genetically engineer and culture Red Cell Therapeutics that are “selective, potent and off-the-shelf allogeneic cellular therapies for the potential treatment of several diseases across multiple therapeutic areas.” Its lead oncology program at the time was RTX-240, a broad immunostimulatory Red Cell Therapeutic. But in the September 2022 announcement, Rubius reported discontinuing ongoing early-stage clinical studies of RTX-240 and RTX-224 for advanced solid tumors. What Comes Next In Wednesday's announcement, Rubius announced that Dannielle Appelhans, the current COO at Rubius, would be appointed president and CEO, effective Nov. 15. The SEC filing indicates she will also serve as the company’s “interim principal financial officer and principal accounting officer.” Cagnoni, effective immediately, was appointed chair of the Rubius board of directors. He will continue as president and CEO until Nov. 15. The current chairman, Noubar Afeyan, M.D., resigned but will continue as a board observer. Cagnoni also plans to join Flagship Pioneering. Rubius was founded by Flagship in 2014. Additional changes in the C-suite include Pepe Carmona, CFO, and Maiken Keson-Brooks, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, leaving the company. The company believes that slashing staff and refocusing on its second-generation technology will cut its operating expenses “with the goal of allowing the Company to pursue any viable strategic alternatives,” according to the SEC filing. This will also incur charges of about $4.4 million in the fourth quarter, including termination benefits mostly made up of severance payments.

Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images Both Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie separately filed notices with the California state government stating they intend to lay off up to 360 people in the state. Bristol Myers Squibb’s job cuts are for two different sites in San Diego. The company indicated the layoffs are related to BMS’s acquisition of Turning Point Therapeutics for $4.1 billion, a deal that closed in August. "As part of the integration, all incoming employees received retention packages tied to continued service to BMS for a period of time and have been encouraged to apply to long-term roles at BMS after their retention period ends," A BMS spokesperson told BioSpace. "We’ve informed all impacted employees about their retention periods. San Diego is a key innovation hub for BMS and we remain committed to our West Coast innovation hubs as a center of innovative drug discovery.” Turning Point is a precision oncology company. Its lead asset, repotrectinib, received three Breakthrough Therapy Designations from the FDA. It is a best-in-class tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets the ROS1 and NTRK oncogenic drivers of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other advanced solid tumors. The company has indicated it expects approval by the FDA in the second half of 2023 for ROS1-positive NSCLC in the first-line setting. AbbVie’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing indicated plans to axe up to 99 jobs in Irvine, California. The cuts are expected to occur in November. Per the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, the site is an Allergan manufacturing facility. AbbVie acquired Ireland-based Allergan in 2019 for $63 billion. Allergan is best known for its aesthetics division, including Botox, although it also has a strong pipeline of therapeutics for migraine, eye care, CNS and gastrointestinal disorders. AbbVie has a broad focus in immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and eye care. Its mega-blockbuster drug Humira brought in $20.7 billion alone in 2021. AbbVie did not return BioSpace’s request for comment. The Latest in a String of Layoffs This announcement follows several other layoff announcements in the month of September. Palisade Bio announced plans to cut 20% of its workforce only a month after raising $14 million in an initial public offering (IPO). The company, based in San Diego, stated the layoffs were needed to continue advancing its Phase III development of LB1148. IMV reported plans to lay off one-third of its staff this month as part of a strategic reorganization. It plans to focus its remaining resources on its ongoing MVP-S program, which includes the Phase IIB VITALIZE trial in relapsed/refractor DLBCL and Phase IIB AVALON study in advanced metastatic ovarian cancer. ObsEva SA, on Sept. 13, announced an update to previously restructuring activities. As part of its announcement, the company reported pink-slipping about 70% of staff, including Katja Buhrer, the company’s chief strategy officer. Rubius Therapeutics, on Sept. 13, announced it was terminating 75% of its staff as part of a restructuring plan to focus on its Red Cell Therapeutics technology. The company has discontinued ongoing Phase I trials of RTX-240 and RTX-224 for advanced solid tumors and is shifting back to a preclinical activities plan.