Another Flagship startup takes a direct hit, shedding close to half its staff in latest restructuring
04 Nov 2022
mRNA
Another one of Flagship’s biotech startups traveling the edge of the innovation galaxy has run into trouble. And they’ve brought out the budget axe — the tool of first resort in a world where once roaring streams of money have calmed considerably.
Eighteen months after Repertoire Immune Medicines unveiled a whopping $189 million raise, the company confirmed Friday afternoon that it has laid off 65 staffers, or close to half the employee roster.
There’s no word why they’re cutting, though earlier in the week another big Flagship startup, Rubius, pared down to a skeleton crew in search of an exit strategy of some kind. A spokesperson tells Endpoints they’ll have more on the restructuring next week.
FierceBiotech first reported the Repertoire layoffs earlier Friday.
In Rubius’s case, Flagship chief Noubar Afeyan exited the chairman’s role at its second demise — the first iteration went down for the count following weak human data. In Repertoire’s case, Afeyan started as the chairman of the enterprise, a combination of two startups that were exploring the junction of TCRs and antigens.
Repertoire is helmed by John Cox, who helped forge a union of Cogen Immune Medicine and Torque Therapeutics. Pfizer vet Anthony Coyle serves as president and head of R&D, fitting a mold of pharma vets recruited into the Flagship fold.
A few weeks ago, ex-Rubius chair David Epstein — out of Novartis — exited Flagship after a five-year stint.
Flagship led the latest big round at Repertoire, with assistance from Softbank Vision Fund2, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the Alaska Permanent Fund, and Invus.
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