Vedanta Biosciences has “significantly reduced” its headcount to channel its remaining resources to its lead live bacteria cocktail program.
The company is now “laser-focused” on a phase 3 study of VE303, a bacterial consortium candidate consisting of eight strains of live commensal bacteria. Vedanta has been aiming to get its phase 3 study for VE303 to treat recurrent infections caused by the bacteria Clostridioides difficile completed by June 2027, according to the federal trials database.
Fierce has received reports that the company laid off 50% of its workforce last week, with another 45% placed on furlough, while the biotech seeks out additional funding, though Vedanta didn't confirm these specific details.
Instead, Vedanta told Fierce that in order to “maintain progress and focus resources” on the VE303 trial, the company had “made the extremely difficult decision to significantly reduce our headcount.”
“The departing team members are exceptional professionals who we thank deeply for their contributions and who we will support in their search for their next roles,” the spokesperson told Fierce this morning.
“We are laser-focused on progressing VE303, which is supported by strong phase 2 data we believe represent potential best-in-disease activity and an opportunity to improve care for the hundreds of thousands of people with Clostridioides difficile infection worldwide,” they added.
By trying to treat recurrent infections caused by Clostridioides difficile, Vedanta is following in the footsteps of Seres Therapeutics, which secured the first-ever FDA approval for an oral microbiome therapy in the form of Vowst in 2023.
Bacterial mixtures like Vedanta’s aim to reset out-of-whack gut microbiomes by enlisting healthy bacteria to evict and replace others that may be causing disease. In August, the company halted work on another bacteria treatment for Enterobacteriaceae—a driver of inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease—after it failed to reduce disease severity in a phase 2 study.
At the time, the company announced it was laying off 20% of its employees as it refocused on VE303.
Vedanta’s last significant infusion of funding was back in 2023, when the biotech secured a $107 million series C in the wake of Seres’ approval for Vowst. Vedanta has also been accessing grant funding from the global nonprofit CARB-X to help finance a preclinical candidate for the prevention of Gram-negative infections.