Biotech company Artiva Biotherapeutics plans to lay off roughly 94 percent of its workforce and abandon its cell therapy treatment for rheumatoid arthritis after clinical trial data showed a lack of long-term benefits and two patient deaths.
Data gathered during clinical trials showed AlloNK—an off-the-shelf therapy that targets and kills B cells in treating autoimmune diseases—was initially effective, the San Diego-based company stated in an Oct. 27 press release. However, updated longer-term data did not show enough benefits to justify further development.
As such, plans for a Phase 3 trial have been dropped, and the company has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the California Employment Development Department confirming the incoming layoffs. The layoffs are expected to impact more than 100 staff members….