Pharma and Biotech Layoffs 2025

Waves of targeted job cuts are continuing into 2025 across pharma and biotech as companies respond to pipeline setbacks, patent cliffs and shifting regulatory landscapes.

Reductions to workforces are being propelled by financial pressures and strategic realignments, as companies grapple with revenue losses from patent expirations and make decisions to redirect their focus.

Meanwhile, an unpredictable regulatory environment and rapid technological advancements, particularly in AI, are transforming workflows and prompting shifts in resource and talent allocation.

Here is a roundup of some of the major pharma and biotech layoffs in 2025, which Xtalks will continually update throughout the year.

PHARMA LAYOFFS 2025

Novartis Layoffs 2025

November 25: Novartis announced plans to cut up to 550 jobs at its Stein, Switzerland facility by the end of 2027 as it phases out tablet and capsule production and packaging of sterile medicines at that site. Simultaneously, the company said it will invest in its Schweizerhalle plant near Basel to build out production of RNA and other advanced therapies, creating about 80 new jobs by the end of 2028. At the same time, Novartis has been resizing its US operations. On November 19, the Swiss company announced plans to build a flagship manufacturing hub in North Carolina as part of its $23 billion investment in US-based infrastructure over the next five years. While the new hub will create an expected 700 jobs, according to the company, Novartis has also been at the chopping board, laying off 427 US-based staff at its East Hanover, NJ headquarters, followed by a WARN notice for an additional 58 layoffs targeting the US medical-affairs organization between late 2025 and mid-2026.

March 17: According to a WARN notice filed March 17, Novartis plans to cut 427 jobs from its US workforce. The layoffs, scheduled to occur between June 13 and October 24, will affect employees at the company’s US headquarters in East Hanover, New Jersey. The move follows a previous round of layoffs in December 2024, when Novartis let go of 330 employees as part of its decision to close sites in Germany and Boston, facilities it acquired through its $2.9 billion purchase of MorphoSys. Both locations are expected to shut down completely by the end of this year.

AbbVie Layoffs 2025

November 12: AbbVie is ending its 11-year R&D partnership with Alphabet (parent company of Google)-backed Calico Life Sciences and will lay off about 100 Calico scientists as the collaboration winds down. The long-running alliance, originally aimed at aging-related diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, and early-stage drug discovery, had yielded several candidates but few major clinical breakthroughs. According to emails viewed by STAT, the decision reflects its shift away from small-molecule discovery toward higher-value areas like biologics, genetic medicines and next-generation modalities, while Calico will continue operating with a narrower research scope. A Calico spokesperson told Fierce Pharma that the partnership has produced “five assets now in clinical development across neuroscience and oncology,” and that “more than 20 additional programs remain in early discovery.”

Catalent Layoffs 2025

November 6: CDMO Catalent confirmed in a recent WARN filing that it will be cutting 77 more jobs in Maryland as part of ongoing restructuring in its gene therapy manufacturing division. The reductions are slated to be effective by January 5, 2026 and affect multiple facilities, particularly its plant in Harmans (61 jobs) and additional cuts in Baltimore (14 jobs). The layoffs come just months after an earlier wave in August 2025, when Catalent cut roughly 350 positions at its Maryland sites, bringing the 2025 total in the state to around 430 jobs lost. According to company statements, the cause is “an unexpected shift in demand from a large commercial customer.” Industry commentary has linked this to broader headwinds in the gene- and cell-therapy CDMO market. The reduction affects specialized gene-therapy manufacturing, including viral-vector production and other services for clinical-grade and commercial therapies

Novo Nordisk Layoffs 2025

October 7: As part of its global cost-efficiency drive, Novo Nordisk is cutting about 9,000 employees worldwide, about 11% of its global workforce, with US layoffs affecting functions such as HR, regulatory, legal, medical and compliance. The company is streamlining operations under a larger strategic transformation plan.

Takeda Layoffs 2025

October 1: As part of a “strategic portfolio reprioritization,” Takeda announced it is discontinuing its internal cell therapy efforts and streamlining R&D operations, with 137 roles impacted at its Massachusetts research hub. The company says it will focus resources on higher-priority programs and established modalities. Takeda said it currently does not have any active clinical trials involving the use of cell therapy.

Bayer Layoffs 2025

August 2025: Bayer confirmed in August that it had laid off over 12,000 employees since 2023 as part of its Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO) restructuring to reduce bureaucracy and save costs. Through the plan, the company is aiming to save 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) by 2026. In 2025 alone, 3,200 positions were eliminated, with 1,500 cuts in the first quarter affecting mostly managerial roles. Layoffs have occurred globally, including at the US headquarters, with more expected to continue into 2026.

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) Layoffs 2025

June 30: As part of its broader multi-billion-dollar cost-cutting efforts, Bristol Myers Squibb has confirmed the elimination of 68 roles at its Lawrenceville, New Jersey site, with the reductions slated to occur between September 2025 and January 2026. This latest wave adds to prior cuts of 516 employees earlier in the year at the same location. 

May 5: BMS is laying off 516 employees in Lawrenceville as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting initiative aimed at aligning resources with its evolving portfolio. The new round of layoffs was detailed in a new Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) report filed with the state. This is the third round of layoffs BMS has disclosed for Lawrenceville in 2025, bringing that area’s total number of affected employees this year to 806.

March 5: According to a Fierce Pharma report, BMS filed a WARN alert indicating plans to lay off 223 employees at its Lawrenceville, New Jersey, facility. The reductions are scheduled to take effect between May 22 and August 1, 2025. ​This follows a previous layoff announcement in February that involved the elimination of 57 positions in Lawrence Township, New Jersey as part of ongoing restructuring and cost savings initiatives.

February 26: BMS continues its aggressive cost-cutting initiatives as it faces looming patent expirations on blockbuster drugs like blood thinner Eliquis (apixaban) and cancer treatment Opdivo (nivolumab), set to take effect around 2028. The company downsized its New Jersey headcount in February — cutting 67 employees — with plans to eliminate over 2,200 jobs by year’s end as part of a broader effort to save approximately $1.5 billion through 2025. By the end of 2027, BMS said the “strategic productivity initiative” will lead to $2 billion in cost savings. In a company presentation, BMS said the cuts are being “driven by changes in organizational design and efforts to enhance operational efficiency.” It said this would lead to a “more efficient company while investing behind growth brands and promising areas of science.”

In a WARN alert filed February 26, BMS also announced plans to cut 57 jobs at its Redwood City, California, facility. The layoffs are scheduled to take effect by April 22. BMS said the Redwood City site specializes in research focused on the complexities of the tumor microenvironment.

Merck Layoffs 2025

July 31: As part of a sweeping cost-cutting programme intended to generate $3 billion in annual savings by 2027, Merck confirmed workforce reductions affecting roughly 8% of its global headcount, around 6,000 employees, starting with select administrative, sales and R&D roles.

March 18: Merck announced it is closing its manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania and will lay off 163 employees in the process, according to a WARN notice. The layoffs will occur in three phases: the first between May 16 and May 30, the second from June through July 7 and the final round is slated for “sometime in 2026,” per the notice. Merck initially announced plans to shut down the Pennsylvania site in early 2022, estimating at the time that around 300 jobs would be impacted. In 2023, the company confirmed that operations would wind down by the end of 2024, according to media reports.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Layoffs 2025

January 31: To usher in the new year, Thermo Fisher announced further layoffs at some of its key sites. These include workforce reductions of 300 employees across its viral vector manufacturing facilities in Cambridge and Plainville, Massachusetts. The announcement came via a Massachusetts WARN report, according to which the layoffs will take effect on March 30. In an email message, Thermo confirmed the layoffs, saying, “In light of recent shifts in customer timelines and utilization needs, we are making strategic business adjustments.”

Biogen Layoffs 2025

January 22: Neuroscience biotech Biogen is set to eliminate an unspecified number of jobs within its research division, a company spokesperson confirmed to Biospace. The layoffs, initially reported by Endpoints News, come as the company’s stock hits a five-year low. The spokesperson explained that the move is part of an effort to “reinvigorate” the drug discovery process and make cuts across its research unit to shift focus to “external opportunities.” The workforce reduction marks one of the first significant strategic decisions by new research head Jane Grogan, who assumed the role in October 2023. Previously the chief scientific officer at Graphite Bio, Grogan was brought on board as part of Biogen’s aggressive cost-cutting initiative announced in July 2023, a program that initially targeted around 1,000 jobs or roughly 11% of the company’s workforce. More layoffs are anticipated this year as the company aims to reduce operating expenses by $1 billion.

Pfizer Layoffs 2025

December 11: To end off the year, Pfizer announced it is reducing its workforce in Switzerland from about 300 employees to 70 by the end of 2025 as part of its global cost-saving goals. In April, Pfizer increased its overall savings target to $7.7 billion through 2027. Of this total, Pfizer is anticipating a net cost savings of $4.5 billion by the end of 2025.

In September, Pfizer announced it was replacing Sabine Bruckner as the Managing Director of Pfizer Switzerland with company veteran Rea Lal, effective December 1, 2025. Pfizer said Bruckner will assume a new role within Pfizer.

As part of its ongoing ‘Cost Realignment Program,’ Pfizer said it is expecting $500 million in savings in 2025, adding to the $4 billion it achieved in 2024. In 2024, the company reduced its headcount across various facilities, including its Sanford, North Carolina site (laying off 150 employees) and another North Carolina location in Rocky Mount (60 positions), to optimize operations and bolster short-term earnings. Pfizer is expecting its full-year 2025 adjusted expenses to range between $13.3 billion and $14.3 billion, along with $10.7 billion and $11.7 billion in R&D expenses for a total of $24 billion and $26 billion in expenditures this year.

BIOTECH LAYOFFS 2025

Voyager Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

December 17: Massachusetts-based neurology biotech Voyager Therapeutics is laying off 30 employees as the company “evaluates its business needs on an ongoing basis,” according to an explanation to Fierce Biotech. In November, the company disclosed that Novartis was discontinuing two discovery-stage programs that were a part of their partnership, with rights returned to Voyager. Voyager has one clinical-stage asset, a tau-targeting antibody currently in a Phase I study for Alzheimer’s disease.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Layoffs 2025

December 17: Intercept will be eliminating 146 jobs beginning December 31, with some of the layoffs slated to take effect March 31 and others June 30. The company has faced a slew of regulatory setbacks, with its most recent being the withdrawal of its only commercial drug Ocaliva (obeticholic acid) from the US market. The product, a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist used for the treatment of the rare liver disease primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), failed to take off after years of efforts to grow sales. First approved in 2016, the drug was positioned to be a potential market leader in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Mythic Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

December 17: Mythic Therapeutics is shuttering its business and selling off its assets. After carrying out an undisclosed round of layoffs earlier this fall, the oncology biotech hasn’t disclosed how many employees will be affected by the closure. According to reporting by Fierce Biotech, in early November, the company terminated a Phase I study in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for its investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate MYTX-011. The study involved more than 200 patients with advanced NSCLC.

Areteia Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

December 15: Despite raising $425 million in a Series A round and reporting promising Phase III data for its oral asthma treatment, Areteia is winding down its operations, according to Endpoints News. It’s been reported that the company’s top executives exited, along with the termination of multiple roles.

Geron Corporation Layoffs 2025

December 11: As part of a restructuring plan shared by California-based Geron, the company will lay off about one-third of its workforce, totaling approximately 260 employees. The company said the restructuring plan is expected to be “substantially complete in the first quarter of 2026,” and projects to reduce its full year 2026 operating expenses from the previous year. After more than 30 years, the company finally managed to win approval for its myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) drug Rytelo (imetelstat). The company is currently advancing the telomerase inhibitor in a late-stage trial for JAK inhibitor relapsed/refractory myelofibrosis.

Valneva Layoffs 2025

November 26: Valneva announced it is closing its site in Nantes, France, resulting in the elimination of 30 of the 39 roles there as part of a move to consolidate operations, concentrate all French activities in Lyon and centralize R&D at its Vienna facility, according to the company. The French vaccine maker said no preclinical programs are being discontinued and that the shift is meant to reduce costs and improve efficiency in light of overlapping R&D functions and limited revenue at the Nantes site. The site currently includes operational as well as certain pre-clinical R&D activities.

Sensei Biotherapeutics Layoffs 2025

November 14: Sensei Biotherapeutics announced a major 65% reduction of its workforce as the company evaluates a potential sale and winds down development activities. The Boston-based company said it will retain only a small team to pursue strategic alternatives, meet regulatory and financial reporting obligations and wind down development activities. The biotech had already reduced its workforce to 14 full-time employees by March after cutting nearly half its staff last year and closing its Rockville, Maryland research site, a move it said was needed to continue funding its oncology candidate solnersotug, an anti-VISTA antibody.

Kite Pharma Layoffs 2025

November 13: The Gilead subsidiary is cutting 17 positions effective January 16, according to a California WARN notice. A spokesperson confirmed the layoffs stem from a paused expansion of its biologics manufacturing operations in Oceanside, California, and redirecting that work to its Foster City site instead. The company had already disclosed five additional Oceanside layoffs in August, which took effect in October. In December 2023, the biotech announced a 7% cut to its workforce.

Arena BioWorks Layoffs 2025

November 4: Arena BioWorks announced it has officially shut down less than two years after its high-profile launch with $500 million in funding from five billionaires. Founded in January 2024 to fast-track drug discovery using AI and basic research, Arena cited “changing biotech macro conditions,” policy uncertainty and weak funding as the reasons for closing. The company laid off about 30% of its workforce in August 2025 and will now terminate the remaining 50 or so staff, though investors have committed “generous severance” and said scientists intend to continue promising projects independently.

Genentech Layoffs 2025

October 29: Genentech, the Bay Area biotech subsidiary of Roche, announced a third round of layoffs this year, bidding farewell to 118 employees in a workforce reduction across several departments, according to an October 27 WARN filing. The company’s first round of workforce cuts, announced at the end of May, was completed July 14, 2025, with 143 employees dismissed from its South San Francisco headquarters. A second, smaller round came in July with the layoff of 87 employees at the same location. The current round marks the third significant workforce reduction in 15 months for Genentech, with previous cuts of 500+ and 93 staff, bringing the cumulative total to well over 700 jobs in that period.

Galapagos NV Layoffs 2025

October 22: Galapagos announced the shutdown of its cell-therapy unit, a decision that will impact about 365 employees across Europe, the US and China, including site closures in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company said the decision followed a “thorough” search for buyers that resulted in no viable offers to sustain the unit.

CSL Layoffs 2025

August 18: CSL announced it will cut up to 15% of its workforce as part of a transformation to streamline R&D, reduce costs and spin out its vaccine subsidiary. While exact numbers were not disclosed, the scale of the cuts and global impact mark one of the larger pharma reorganisations in the period.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Layoffs 2025

August 8: The biotech announced it will lay off roughly 19% of its workforce, some 230+ employees, as part of a restructuring after weaker-than-expected revenue from its TIL therapy. The cuts are intended to extend its cash runway and reflect a shift in the commercial and strategic outlook.

BioNTech Layoffs 2025

August 5: Following a review of its cell-therapy manufacturing and pipeline, the mRNA specialist said it will lay off about 90 employees across two sites (Maryland & Massachusetts) in addition to its June cut of 63 staff at the Gaithersburg facility. The German biotech filed a WARN notice in June with plans to lay off 63 employees at its cell therapy facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The workforce cuts are part of BioNTech’s ongoing restructuring of its cell therapy operations in the US as it shifts focus toward mRNA-based immunotherapies and oncology programs.

Sarepta Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

July 16: Sarepta announced it will eliminate about 500 jobs (~36% of its staff) following two patient deaths linked to its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The company also paused certain programs and is pivoting its pipeline strategy toward siRNA.

Sage Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

June 30: Two weeks after its acqui­sition proposal by Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Sage Therapeutics announced it would lay off all 338 of its full-time employees, including 98 in R&D and the remainder in sales/administration, effective August 22. The move follows a late-June regulatory filing and underscores the company’s wind-down amid the takeover.

BlueRock Therapeutics Layoffs 2025 

June 25: BlueRock, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, announced layoffs of 50 employees and the closure of its Cambridge research labs, while maintaining its headquarters in Cambridge and shifting research to its New York and Toronto sites. The restructuring is intended to sharpen the company’s focus on its leading cell-therapy programs and streamline operations across all sites.

Eikon Therapeutics Layoffs

May 23: Eikon confirmed a reduction of ~55 employees (~15% of its workforce) effective July 2025, citing reduced government/academic funding and market headwinds for its drug-discovery instrumentation business.

Unity Biotechnology Layoffs 2025

May 5: Unity laid off its entire remaining workforce, including CEO Anirvan Ghosh, as part of a cost-cutting initiative. In a news release, the company said it is exploring strategic alternatives such as asset sales, mergers or a full shutdown. Unity, which once drew attention from high-profile investors including Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel for its anti-aging research into senescent cells, is winding down after failed drug trials and over $510 million in losses. Despite some early promise in eye disease research, no products have reached market. The company, once valued at $700 million and now down to 16 employees, will lay off most staff by May 15, according to an SEC filing, with $3.7 million in severance, over a fifth of its $16.9 million in cash. Some may be rehired as consultants to complete trials.

Biomea Layoffs 2025

May 5: Biomea announced a 35% workforce reduction to conserve cash and shift focus away from a leukemia program. Remaining staff will consolidate at the Biomea Innovation Lab Center. The company is prioritizing insulin-deficient patients and combination strategies with GLP-1-based therapies for obesity and diabetes. This includes development efforts and investments in icovamenib, an oral menin inhibitor for diabetes, and BMF-650, a next-generation oral GLP-1 receptor agonist.

Mammoth Biosciences Layoffs 2025

May 5: The CRISPR-focused company laid off 24 employees as part of a strategic realignment to advance internal programs and support partnerships. The company aims to ensure it has the right organization to drive forward its internal programs to the clinic, support partnerships, and push forward innovative research to develop new curative therapies.

Tempest Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

April 30: In an SEC filing, Tempest announced it is cutting approximately 80% of its workforce (21 out of 26 employees) to extend its cash runway while exploring strategic alternatives, including mergers or acquisitions. The company expects the action to cost about $1.5 million, mainly in the form of severance payments. According to the SEC filing, key staff among those being let go will transition to consulting agreements.

Pliant Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

April 30: Pliant reduced its workforce by 45%, laying off approximately 75 employees, following the suspension of a key clinical trial due to safety concerns. The company suffered a significant loss in market value, dropping from $760 million in early February to about $105 million. The layoffs are aimed at preserving the company’s capability to conduct late-stage clinical trials.

Arvinas Layoffs 2025

April 30: Arvinas announced plans to lay off 131 employees, including 92 in Connecticut, accounting for roughly one-third of its workforce. CEO John Houston cited ongoing capital market challenges and a need to reevaluate business priorities as reasons for the layoffs, aiming to streamline operations and support the company’s drug development goals. The decision follows the discontinuation of two drug development projects with Pfizer. Pfizer and Arvinas are co-developing the PROTAC ER degrader vepdegestrant, which failed to improve progression-free survival in breast cancer patients, though it showed promise in those with ESR1 mutations. Despite plans to present the Phase III data to regulators, Arvinas has scrapped both a first-line trial combining vepdegestrant with Pfizer’s CDK4 inhibitor atirmociclib and a second-line trial with a CDK4/6 inhibitor.

Relay Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

April 4: According to reporting by Endpoint News, Relay Therapeutics is initiating its third round of layoffs within the past year, this time cutting approximately 70 employees. The move likely reduces the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech’s headcount to under 200. As of December 31, Relay employed 261 people, with 80% working in R&D, according to an SEC filing. The layoffs will slash Relay’s annual research budget by roughly 75%. The company is currently gearing up to launch a Phase III registrational trial for its mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor in breast cancer in the coming months. In July 2024, the company cut less than 5% of its staff, followed by another round in October that affected around 30 employees, or roughly 10% of the workforce. A company spokesperson said the changes were part of broader efforts to “rationalize tools and streamline teams” for greater efficiency.

Pyxis Oncology Layoffs 2025

March 18: Pyxis Oncology is cutting its workforce by 20% as part of ongoing efforts to streamline operations and focus resources on its lead antibody-drug conjugate, micvotabart pelidotin, the company announced March 18. The layoffs will primarily impact staff in preclinical and general and administrative functions. According to its latest 10-K filing, Pyxis now employs 44 full-time staff, with nearly 80% dedicated to R&D. This marks Pyxis’ second major round of layoffs in recent months; in November 2023, shortly after acquiring Apexigen, the company announced a 40% workforce reduction.

Flagship Pioneering’s Apriori Bio and Empress Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

March 18: Two biotechs backed by Flagship Pioneering are scaling back their teams. Apriori Bio, which is developing “variant-resilient” vaccines, is laying off 15 employees as it shifts from platform development to advancing its pipeline. A company spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to Fierce Biotech, stating the transition prompted a “redesign of the team structure,” resulting in the workforce reduction.

Meanwhile, Empress Therapeutics is also cutting some of its staff. The company, which uses genetic insights to develop improved small-molecule drugs, is letting go of 23 employees. A spokesperson told BioSpace that the layoffs are intended to “create efficiencies” as Empress prepares to move its first program into clinical development.

Atara Biotherapeutics Layoffs 2025

March 3: According to a SEC filing, Atara Biotherapeutics will initiate a second round of layoffs, again cutting about 50% of its remaining staff. The move coincided with the suspension of two CAR T-cell therapy programs, including ATA3219 and ATA3431. In the filing, Atara said the layoffs, which will be completed by June, cost Atara about $3 million. Following an FDA clinical hold on Ebvallo (ATA3219), Atara’s T-cell therapy approved in Europe for Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV+PTLD), due to unresolved manufacturing concerns, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 50%. The decision is aimed to streamline operations and address the regulatory setbacks. ​Atara attributed the clinical hold to deficiencies identified during an FDA inspection of a third-party manufacturing facility, referencing the complete response letter it received from the agency for Ebvallo.

CRISPR Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

February 28: CRISPR Therapeutics shared plans with Fierce Biotech to lay off an undisclosed number of employees. A company spokesperson confirmed the layoffs but did not provide specific details regarding the number of affected staff or the reasons behind the decision. ​CRISPR announced a strong financial start to the year, reporting approximately $1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The company shared that the continued rollout of Casgevy, a gene-editing therapy developed in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, will be a key priority for the company in 2025. CRISPR said global demand for the drug has been robust, with Vertex making significant strides in establishing authorized treatment centers (ATCs) and securing payer coverage. By the end of 2024, over 50 ATCs had been established worldwide, covering all regions where Casgevy is approved. Additionally, more than 50 patients had already undergone at least one cell collection across these regions.

Bio‐Rad Laboratories Layoffs 2025

February 14: Life science research and diagnostics giant Bio‐Rad announced a 5% workforce reduction, over 350 employees, with the most significant cuts at its Hercules headquarters, along with additional layoffs at its Pleasanton and Richmond locations. The measures come amid a challenging financial year marked by a steep net loss of nearly $1.8 billion, forcing the company to proactively manage its cost structure while attempting to stabilize revenue streams in a competitive diagnostic and research tools market.

Allakos Inc. Layoffs 2025

January 27: The Bay Area firm Allakos, once heralded for its potential in treating chronic spontaneous urticaria (chronic hives), reported dismal Phase I trial results for its lead drug, AK006. As a result, the company announced on January 27 a comprehensive “restructuring” that will slash its workforce by 75%, leaving it with roughly 15 employees. The company announced that it will suspend all AK006-related activities across its clinical, manufacturing, research and administrative functions.

Kojin Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

February 13: Facing persistent funding challenges and a stalled pipeline, Boston-based biotech Kojin Therapeutics announced it will be closing its operations altogether, which will affect its 25 employees. The company, which had been working on candidates based on a novel programmed cell death mechanism, noted that the inability to secure sufficient capital to advance its lead candidate has forced a decision to cease operations, marking the end of its development efforts.

Moderna Layoffs 2025

February 13: In a bid to reduce operating expenses after reporting a significant revenue decline and higher-than-expected losses, Moderna is cutting about 10% of roles in its digital departments. Approximately 50 positions are being eliminated as the company refocuses on cost efficiency, reducing R&D expenditures while trying to maintain momentum in its vaccine and therapeutic pipelines. Moderna’s share in the COVID-19 vaccine market fell, and its launch of the RSV shot, mRESVIA, was lackluster due to an unfavorable CDC policy that has affected the entire market. At the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference in January, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel announced the company’s plans to cut 2025 cash costs by $1 billion and an additional $500 million in 2026.

Encoded Therapeutics Layoffs 2025

February 13: Genetic medicines biotech Encoded Therapeutics is reducing its workforce by roughly 29%, or about 60 employees, from its approximately 200-person team. The layoffs primarily impact roles in technology and early-stage R&D. This move is designed to extend the company’s cash runway through 2026, allowing it to hit key development milestones for its lead gene therapy candidate, ETX101, which is being developed for Dravet syndrome. The cuts will also support company operations and the Investigational New Drug (IND)/Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for another candidate, ETX201.

X4 Pharmaceuticals Layoffs 2025

February 6: Boston-based X4 Pharmaceuticals, known for its recently FDA-approved CXCR4 antagonist mavorixafor (marketed under the name Xolremdi) for treating warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, immunodeficiency and myelokathexis (WHIM) syndrome, announced February 6 that it is scaling back its operations by laying off 43 employees, which is around 30% of its workforce. The cut comes as the company pauses preclinical candidates to concentrate on its commercial product and streamline operations to save between $30 million and $35 million.

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