Rubius Therapeutics announced a 75% reduction to its workforce Tuesday morning as part of a broader corporate restructuring initiative.
The majority of the layoffs will focus on clinical development and manufacturing as well as general and administrative roles.
The company, which develops cancer and autoimmune drugs, is implementing a series of cost-saving measures to extend its cash runway until the end of 2023. Rubius is also exploring the sale of its manufacturing facility in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Additionally, the company is discontinuing its ongoing clinical trials of RTX-240 and RTX-224, treatments for advanced solid tumors. It said that continued investment in the efforts is “no longer justified.”
Instead, Rubius will focus on advancing a red blood cell platform that utilizes cell conjugation with the “potential for greater efficacy and enhanced versatility, while maintaining our favorable tolerability profile.”
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the patients who participated in our clinical trials, the investigators who partnered with us in this endeavor and our employees for their immense dedication and contributions that have brought us to where we are today,” Rubius CEO Dr. Pablo Cagnoni said in a statement.
