Gene therapy-focused biotechnology firm uniQure announced it is slashing more than half of its research and technology projects as part of a strategic reorganization aimed at reducing its operating expenses while advancing a selection of its clinical-stage programs to proof-of-concept.
The company said it will no longer be investing in AMT-210 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and multiple other undisclosed programs.
It has chosen to prioritize AMT-130 in Huntington’s disease and near-term initiation of clinical trials for AMT-260 in refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, AMT-162 in SOD1-ALS, and AMT-191 in Fabry disease which it believes have optimal risk, value, and speed attributes.
As such, it intends to reduce its workforce not related to its HEMGENIX for CSL Behring manufacturing obligations by 28% or 114 positions, about 20% of its total workforce, resulting in cost savings of $180 million over the next three years to extend its cash runway into the second quarter of 2027.
It will be closing a research lab in Lexington, Massachusetts, and plans to sublease this space. It also plans to consolidate all of its GMP manufacturing into its Lexington manufacturing facility and consolidate process and analytical development into its Amsterdam, Netherlands facility.
uniQure said it expects to incur one-time restructuring costs of $2.3 million, primarily in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“We are taking important actions today to cut operating expenses while ensuring that we have the necessary resources to advance our prioritized clinical-stage programs as rapidly as possible to proof-of-concept,” uniQure CEO Matt Kapusta said in a statement. “These were difficult but necessary decisions.”
Shares of the company rose on the news, up 8.2% at US$6.52.
Contact the author at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie