After pivoting from Alzheimer's to bone conditions, biotech pivots again — and halves its headcount

31 Jan 2023
endpts.com
Acquisition
When troubled public biotech Cortexyme bought a private startup named Novosteo and handed the keys to its executive team, the company — which changed its name to Quince Therapeutics — said it would shift its focus from an unorthodox Alzheimer’s approach to Novosteo’s bone-targeting drug platform. Less than a year later, Quince is pivoting again. The biotech has decided to out-license its bone-targeting drug platform and its lead drug, NOV004, and instead look for clinical-stage programs to in-license or acquire, according to a press release . As a result, Quince will let go of about 47% of its staff, the company quietly disclosed in an SEC filing . The revamp is expected to save about $9.5 million in 2023; excluding the impact of corporate restructuring and any business development that takes place, the company is budgeting about $11 million in spending for the year. Just a few days ago, Quince put out word about its sale of Cortexyme’s legacy small molecule protease inhibitor portfolio. Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, a company co-founded by a former Cortexyme CEO, bought the compounds to continue testing an out-of-the-box hypothesis that you can slow the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients by blocking a bacteria known as P. gingivalis . With $94 million in cash, equivalents and marketable securities in the bank, Quince noted in its press release that it has enough cash runway to fund pipeline expansion deals as well as other expenditures into at least 2028. Dirk Thye, the Novosteo chief who took over as Quince CEO, said he believes directing capital, drug development and corporate resources toward clinical-stage assets constitutes the “optimal growth plan.” While the company had previously worked on rare skeletal diseases, bone cancer and injury, his team is now looking for “commercially viable” programs across a broad range of therapeutic areas, primarily targeting “debilitating and rare disease therapeutic areas.” “Potential asset targets must have compelling data, a well-defined commercial opportunity, and efficient clinical and regulatory development pathway,” Quince wrote. As for its former lead drug, it emphasized that NOV004, while still preclinical, has completed all IND-enabling studies. The company has also held a pre-IND meeting with the FDA.
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