The California-based drugmaker is laying off 20 employees in California and Colorado, some of whom work remotely.
With dwindling funds after a prior snub from the FDA, ImmunityBio’s journey to bag approval for its Merck-rivaling bladder cancer drug Anktiva wasn’t easy. Now, a few months after finally crossing the FDA finish line, the California-based drugmaker is turning to layoffs to save costs.The company is trimming its workforce by 20 staffers at the end of the month across several California offices and one in Colorado, according to state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices.Some of the impacted workers work remotely such as one technical analyst in Florida, the company’s HR team wrote in a notice to Florida officials. Positions on the chopping block include managers in quality control and supply chain management, an associate director of procurement and strategic sourcing, IT support and other manufacturing positions. All layoffs will be effective on Oct. 29.ImmunityBio in its notice to the impacted state’s governors said the moves were to “better align operations to support the Company’s ongoing business strategy, reduce redundancies, and drive financial efficiencies.” The company has no comment at this time, a spokesperson said. The downsizing comes as ImmunityBio’s Anktiva, used alongside Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is challenging Merck’s Keytruda and Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ Adstiladrin gene therapy in BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ. Shortly after an FDA approval in April, ImmunityBio partnered with the Serum Institute of India to manufacture BCG globally amid an ongoing shortage. After securing $470 million in financing last year from its founder, renowned celebrity businessman and biotech entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, and striking a $210 million royalty deal with Oberland Capital in January, a recent SEC filing revealed that the Anktiva maker is still strapped for cash.As of June 30, ImmunityBio had stacked up an accumulated deficit of $3.2 billion and had negative cash flow of $207.3 million from operations over the six months ending on that date. The situation likely calls for additional capital to commercialize its now approved product and to further fund the development and regulatory filings of other candidates, the company said in the filing.Still, the company thinks that its existing cash, future Anktiva sales and several other avenues can support it through at least the next 12 months based largely on Soon-Shiong’s “intent and ability to support our operations with additional funds, including loans from affiliated entities, as required.” However, without significant Anktiva sales or additional external funds, ImmunityBio may opt to delay or cut down on its operating or investment expenditures.“Because of the risk and uncertainties associated with the commercialization of our approved product and our other product candidates, we may need additional funds to meet our needs sooner than planned,” the company explained in the filing.Last year’s FDA complete response letter, which was blamed on contract manufacturing issues, left stock spiraling more than 50% and sent the company scrambling to refile while trying to bulk up a bank balance that had dipped to $43.5 million by the end of June 2023. The regulatory rejection came after the drugmaker backtracked on planned hirings of 300 employees in New York and instead let go of 38 staffers at the site due to “economic” reasons.