Ryvu Therapeutics is shrinking its head count by 30% as the Polish biotech focuses its funds on taking its lead blood cancer drug through phase 3 trials.
The asset, dubbed RVU120, is a selective CDK8/CDK19 kinase inhibitor that Ryvu is aiming at both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. RVU120 is already in three late-stage studies, including in combination with Jakafi for myelofibrosis, alongside Venclexta for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and as a monotherapy for lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
Ryvu has around 46 million euros ($48.3 million) on hand in cash and equivalents, alongside 22 million euros ($23.1 million) in non-dilutive grant funding. The “strategic reorganization” outlined this morning is designed to extend this cash runway into the second half of 2026.
The reorganization includes waving goodbye to 30% of workers, leaving the biotech with around 200 employees.
Ryvu is also scrapping a planned phase 2 study of RVU120 in patients with AML or high-risk MDS. Instead, the aim for RVU120 is now “rapid study enrollment and quality data generation in 2025,” according to a Feb. 25 release.
In addition, the Kraków, Poland-based biotech will continue to work on its preclinical pipeline, which is headed up by RVU305, a PRMT5 inhibitor aiming to treat multiple solid tumors. Behind it are antibody-drug conjugates with “novel payloads,” like synthetically lethal and immunomodulatory mechanisms, and the company’s small-molecule precision medicine platform called ONCO Prime.
“Considering our cash position, revenue projections, cost structure and the demanding market environment, we decided to optimize expenses so that the company has sufficient cash runway to generate key data for RVU120 and the preclinical pipeline, expecting that our achievements over the next year will support future cash inflows,” Ryvu CEO Paweł Przewięźlikowski said in the release.
Ryvu could also be in line for potential milestone payments at some point from its partnerships with companies BioNTech, Exelixis and Menarini.