San Diego biotech Artiva Biotherapeutics is laying off about 94% of its workforce and abandoning its lead immunotherapy treatment for rheumatoid arthritis roughly five months after raising about $300 million from investors.
The company said Tuesday that updated data showed its lead candidate, AlloNK — an off-the-shelf natural killer cell therapy — was initially effective in clinical trials, but the benefits did not last long enough to justify a planned Phase 3 trial. The biotech also faced scrutiny after two patients in the clinical trials died, though neither death appeared to be related to the AlloNK therapy trial.
In June, Artiva had 115 full-time employees and plans to grow, according to federal filings. Now the company is cutting almost all of its staff, many of whom work at the company’s headquarters at 5505 Morehouse Drive in San Diego. An official WARN notice detailing the layoffs has not yet been filed…