Global Biopharma Layoffs October 2026

Adecto Pharmaceuticals & Aviceda Therapeutics

Adecto Pharmaceuticals and Aviceda Therapeutics are both winding down operations, bringing development programs at the two biotech companies to an end. Adecto, a Boston-based company developing therapies for cancers that do not respond to conventional immunotherapy, officially ceased operations on Sept. 30, according to its website.

Adecto CEO Nora Minerva confirmed the closure in a LinkedIn post last week, expressing hope that the company's work could continue in some form despite the shutdown. The biotech had been focused on developing treatments for patients whose cancers have limited response to existing immunotherapy approaches.

Aviceda Therapeutics is also reportedly shutting down after a setback in its retinal disease program. The company had been preparing to advance an ophthalmology candidate into a Phase 3 trial, but an asset targeting geographic atrophy failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase 2b study. A source familiar with the decision said the company is now winding down, while an employee reportedly attributed the closure to the clinical trial results.

The companies have not disclosed how many employees are affected by the closures. Based on their LinkedIn profiles, Adecto had an estimated two to 10 employees, while Aviceda was listed as having between 51 and 200 employees.

Foghorn Therapeutics

Foghorn Therapeutics is cutting approximately 40% of its workforce after ending its oncology collaboration with Eli Lilly and narrowing its development priorities. The Watertown, Massachusetts-based biotech expects the majority of the layoffs to be completed during the current quarter, leaving the company with approximately 65 full-time employees.

The restructuring follows a review of clinical data from a Phase 1 dose-escalation study of FHD-909, also known as LY4050784. Foghorn and Lilly have decided not to move the small-molecule cancer candidate into the expansion stage of clinical development.

The companies are also discontinuing work on a selective SMARCA2 degrader program and do not expect to pursue additional collaboration activities. Foghorn, which has programs spanning oncology as well as immunology and inflammation, is consequently reducing its pipeline and workforce to focus resources on its remaining development opportunities.