Voyager Therapeutics has reduced its workforce following a decision by partner Novartis to drop two projects from their ongoing alliance. According to Fierce Biotech, approximately 30 positions were eliminated. The collaboration has focused on gene therapy development, though the specific disease targets have not been publicly disclosed.
The company has not detailed the expected financial impact of the layoffs, nor has it clarified its post-restructuring headcount. Voyager reported having 172 employees at the close of 2024, based on its annual filing.
The partnership was formalized in January 2024, when Novartis provided $100 million upfront and outlined potential milestone payments totaling up to $1.2 billion. Programs addressing Huntington’s disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and an additional undisclosed target remain active.
Following the withdrawal of its sole marketed drug, Ocaliva, Intercept Pharmaceuticals is taking steps to curb operating expenses. As part of this effort, the company plans to eliminate 146 roles at its New Jersey site, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing.
The workforce reduction will begin toward the end of the year and continue through the first half of 2026, with completion expected by June 30, 2026.
Ocaliva, an oral farnesoid X receptor agonist, received accelerated approval in 2016 for primary biliary cholangitis. However, the drug encountered repeated regulatory hurdles in metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH), failing to secure approval in both 2020 and 2023. The latter setback led Intercept to discontinue its MASH program.
In September 2024, the FDA raised concerns over negative trends related to liver transplants and mortality among treated patients. Shortly thereafter, the agency’s Gastrointestinal Drug Advisory Committee voted against granting Ocaliva full approval.
Mythic Therapeutics has halted operations after exhausting its available funding options. The Boston-based antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) company has terminated its only clinical program after failing to secure additional capital, Endpoints News reported.
CEO George Eliades said the company explored multiple financing strategies throughout 2025 to sustain operations, but those efforts were unsuccessful despite encouraging signs from its lead asset, MYTX-011. He noted that Mythic is now winding down and seeking buyers for its remaining assets, several of which are still available to interested ADC developers.
Founded in December 2021 with $103 million raised in a Series B round, Mythic set out to develop safer and more effective ADCs. Its workforce ranged from 11 to 50 employees, according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.
In May, Mythic released Phase I data for MYTX-011 in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The study reported a preliminary overall response rate of 36% in patients with low cMET expression, 39% in those with high cMET expression, and 50% among patients with EGFR mutations and high or intermediate cMET levels. Responses lasted as long as 8.9 months.
Geron announced plans to cut roughly one-third of its workforce as it seeks to boost the commercial performance of its cancer drug Rytelo. With about 260 employees currently on staff, the move is expected to affect approximately 87 individuals, according to a company statement.
Rytelo gained approval in June 2024 as the first telomerase inhibitor for lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome patients with transfusion-dependent anemia. Despite the milestone, sales have lagged, generating $47.2 million in the third quarter, a 3% decline from the prior quarter. Geron is also evaluating the drug in the Phase III IMpactMF trial for relapsed or refractory myelofibrosis.
The company expects the layoffs to be largely completed early next year. While restructuring costs were not disclosed, Geron anticipates beginning to realize savings in the first quarter of 2026.
Pfizer is set to eliminate more than 200 positions across Switzerland as part of its ongoing cost-containment strategy, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 10.
Sources cited by the publication said the company’s Swiss workforce will be reduced from roughly 300 employees to about 70 once the cuts are finalized, a process expected to conclude by year-end. Pfizer said the move reflects efforts to realign resources and simplify its operating structure.
Since launching a broad, multi-year restructuring initiative in October 2023, Pfizer has reduced its global headcount by around 2,000 roles. That year alone, approximately 850 positions were eliminated across the U.S. and Europe. In 2024, another 700 jobs were cut, and about 150 roles have been removed so far this year, excluding the Swiss reductions.
Adare Pharma Solutions will lay off 137 employees as it shuts down a manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, according to a WARN Act notice. The job reductions are scheduled to take place between March 1 and June 30 of next year.
A company spokesperson told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the closure was driven by challenging economic conditions affecting its customer base.
In August 2024, Adare announced plans to relocate its headquarters from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, supported by a $3 million investment from the City of Philadelphia. At the time, the move was expected to create at least 115 new jobs while preserving roughly 200 existing roles. More recently, in October, the company expanded its operations in Milan, Italy, adding a new packaging facility and warehouse.
Valneva plans to close its Nantes, France, site as part of an effort to streamline operations and shift activities to Lyon, the company said in a Nov. 26 announcement. Confirming the move to Fierce Biotech, a spokesperson said the closure will result in job losses for 30 employees based at the site.
The Nantes facility had been used for operational and preclinical R&D work. Valneva said shutting down the site will not disrupt its early-stage programs. Following the closure, the company will move its registered office to Lyon and further consolidate R&D efforts in Vienna.
The timing of the layoffs and the associated severance costs have not yet been disclosed.
Valneva focuses primarily on vaccine development. In August, the FDA paused approval of its chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq after identifying serious safety concerns, including one fatality deemed directly linked to the shot. The company’s other U.S.-approved product is the Japanese encephalitis vaccine Ixiaro.
