ALX Oncology, a Bay Area biotech firm currently running clinical trials for its anticancer therapy, announced Wednesday that it’s laying off about 30% of its staff.
ALX shared the news in a press release ; the cuts will hit a couple dozen workers, according to the South San Francisco company’s report of an 89-person headcount in September 2024. CEO Jason Lettmann called the cuts a “difficult decision” in the release.
The layoffs are partially a reallocation of resources, according to the release: They will hit workers “primarily in the preclinical research function” while freeing up more money for new breast and colorectal cancer trials focused on the company’s leading candidate, evorpacept. With evorpacept, ALX aims to block what it calls “don’t eat me” signals from cancer cells to help the body’s natural defenses — as well as other cancer treatments — destroy tumors…