May 10, 2023
EQRx, a biotech company that aims to lower drug prices, has announced it will lay off 170 employees and incur non-recurring costs of $45 - $55 million for wind down, termination, and exit costs. The announcement comes as part of the company's plan to streamline expenses and discontinue several pipeline candidates.
EQRx was founded on the premise that it could significantly reduce drug prices. However, in November, the company announced that one of its lead drugs was not commercially viable, and it would pursue "market-based pricing" for two other drugs. In February, EQRx announced it would streamline expenses, including an 18% decrease in the company's workforce by the end of the first quarter of 2023, leaving the company with approximately 300 employees.
As part of Monday's announcement, the company is discontinuing several pipeline candidates, including sugemalimab and nofazinlimab, both of which are anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1 antibodies, respectively. EQRx is also terminating the license agreement for EQ121, a Janus kinase (JAK)-1 inhibitor, with Lynk Pharmaceuticals.
EQRx plans to separate its early-stage immune-inflammatory (I&I) R&D programs from its oncology business into a new wholly-owned subsidiary. The company also intends to explore its path as an independent company and pursue additional funding options.
CEO Melanie Nallicheri said that "Going forward, EQRx will leverage its significant scale of capital and team of experienced 'drug hunters' towards developing clinically differentiated, high-value medicines." Monday's changes leave EQRx with just one clinical program, a CDK4/6 inhibitor, lerociclib. EQRx maintains a $1.3 billion cash position to advance lerociclib through clinical trials. Portfolio decisions and a significant reduction in the workforce are expected to drive annualized cash savings of at least $125 million and significantly lower future cash burn.
Members of LevelFields received the alert of this event on May 10, 5:10 AM ET
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