Century Therapeutics has announced that it will be laying off approximately 25% of its employees as part of a plan to financially sustain the company until 2026. Furthermore, the company has also revealed its restructuring plans and has said to be closing its labs in Seattle and Hamilton and consolidating its operations in Philadelphia.
Reportedly, the company had a workforce of 170 employees at the end of 2021 and as per a statement from Lalo Flores, Chief Executive, Century Therapeutics, the decision has been made to right size the organisation and save every extra cost.
To further save any additional costs, Century Therapeutics will also be focusing on CNTY-101 and other key programs as part of its internal portfolio prioritization. Additionally, the company has decided to reduce its investment in CNTY-103 for glioblastoma and a discovery program in hematologic malignancies.
The CNTY-103 was introduced by the company as an experimental treatment for glioblastoma and discovery research in blood cancers. However, the project has been put on the de-prioritising list from the company as Hy Levitsky, Century’s head of research and development, has also resigned.
Century Therapeutics is one of several biotech companies attempting to develop more effective cell therapies for cancer, building upon the pioneering work of Novartis, Gilead, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson. The company hopes to create treatments that are more convenient, potent, or capable of treating different types of cancer, including solid tumors.
Some other companies sharing the same dream are Fate and TCR2 Therapeutics that, reportedly, have narrowed down their workforces by 25% as well.
