Notch Therapeutics is making “significant” layoffs to conserve its cash while the cell therapy biotech seeks out new partners or investors.
The Canada-based company’s pipeline remains in preclinical development, including Allogene-partnered induced-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived T cells. It’s also working on a CD19- and CD20-focused CAR therapy, among others.
The company had operated out of three cell therapy centers, although Notch announced in 2023 that it would be closing its Vancouver lab, which also served as its headquarters, in order to “remain operationally efficient during these externally challenging and turbulent times.”
In a LinkedIn post yesterday, Notch’s leadership again blamed tough market conditions for the need to reduce its head count.
“The biotech market has faced significant challenges over the last few years, with early-stage cell therapy companies being significantly affected,” the company wrote in the Jan. 16 post. “Unfortunately, Notch is not immune from this environment.”
“While we have made considerable progress, securing additional investment and/or additional partners to take our research forward remains challenging,” the company continued. “We have made the difficult decision to significantly reduce our workforce to preserve cash and provide the time to explore alternate paths forward.”
Fierce Biotech has asked Notch how many of its employees are set to be affected by the changes. A previous version of the company’s website two years ago stated that Notch employed more than 90 staffers, although this was before the plans to close the Vancouver site.
Notch’s last funding announcement was a $85 million series A back in 2021, in which Allogene participated.