With Lava Therapeutics still smoldering from the decision to dump its lead blood cancer drug, the biotech is now laying off 30% of its staff in an effort to conserve cash.
Since deciding in December that its bispecific gamma delta T-cell engager had not reached the company’s “internal benchmarks,” Lava has shifted focus to LAVA-1266, a CD123-targeting T-cell engager initially focused on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
“While we will continue investigating LAVA-1266 in the potential treatment of AML and MDS and supporting our Gammabody pharma partnerships, with only one product in clinical development and an early-stage pipeline, we felt it appropriate to investigate strategic opportunities to drive additional shareholder value,” CEO Steve Hurly explained in a Feb. 25 release.
“Lava is in a strong position to unlock strategic opportunities for the company, in addition to our proprietary pipeline and partnered programs,” Hurly added. To this end, Lava has “initiated a process to review strategic options focused on maximizing shareholder value.” This could range from in-licensing assets to a sale, merger or acquisition.
In the meantime, the biotech has “implemented cost curtailment,” which includes laying off 30% of its employees. The layoffs are likely to incur one-time costs of around $500,000, with those employees “essential for supporting value creation” spared from redundancy.
Lava entered the new year with $76.6 million in cash and equivalents and had previously been expected its funds to stretch into 2027. The biotech reaffirmed in today’s release that it is pushing ahead with enrollment in a phase 1 study of LAVA-1266 in hematologic malignancies, including AML and MDS.
The company also has an EGFR and bispecific gamma delta T-cell-receptor-targeted therapy for solid tumors in a phase 1 trial in partnership with Pfizer, while a Johnson & Johnson-partnered CD33 and Vδ2 T cell-targeting bispecific gamma delta T-cell engager is being readied for an early-stage study.