In survival mode, Exicure cuts to the bone — pausing all R&D and chopping headcount by 66%

27 Sep 2022
endpts.com
OligonucleotideCollaboratemRNA
The drastic restructuring that Exicure undertook at the end of last year couldn’t save the biotech after all. In fact, Exicure — whose take on gene expression once drew the backing of Bill Gates and a slate of tech investors — is going for another round of layoffs, this time cutting to the bone with 66% of the remaining staffers being let go, while halting all R&D activities and looking to divest its entire pipeline. To help keep the lights on longer, an existing investor — CBI USA — also agreed to buy more shares for $5.4 million. As a result, it now commands a controlling stake of a company whose market cap sits at under $9 million. Exicure suggested it was in deep trouble when it parted ways with founding CEO David Giljohann and chopped half of its workforce. At the time, it mapped out a plan to wind down two programs — the immuno-oncology asset cavrotolimod and another preclinical drug for FriedreichFriedreich’s ataxia — and focus its resources on a preclinical program targeting SCN9A for neuropathic pain as well as partnerships with Ipsen and AbbVie. That left the company with 31 employees. Both deals were anchored on Exicure’s special oligonucleotides, or synthetic structures of nucleic acids that can be used to modulate gene expression. But in the latest update, the company said it will also suspend all partnered programs and explore divestiture of the SCN9A product candidates, which target the Nav1.7 channel, for neuropathic pain. While those compounds had promising activity in preclinical studies and spurred a significant level of knockdown of the SCN9A mRNA transcript, Exicure said the effect didn’t pan out in later studies. Results from a recent in vivo animal study in non-human primates did not meet desired target engagement levels as observed in previous in vitro preclinical studies. Additional preclinical studies would be required to understand recent findings, likely delaying the timing of IND-enabling work. As a result, Exicure has suspended further preclinical activities for the SCN9A program as it assesses strategic alternatives for all its assets, including its platform technology, with the goal of maximizing stockholder value. The executive team is expected to remain in place following the reorg, Exicure added.
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