Dive Brief:
- GS-4774, an oral antiviral drug candidate for hepatitis B, being co-developed by GlobeImmune and Gilead, has failed in phase 2 trials.
- Now, the Louisville, CO-based GlobeImmune is laying off most of its workforce.
- GlobeImmune, which develops cancer and infectious disease therapies using its T-cell immunologic platform, went public last year.
Dive Insight:
At face value, it seems as if it's gone from bad to worse for GlobeImmune, which has been around since 1995 and went public last year (after trying and failing to go public in 2012). Last year, GlobeImmune lost $222.7 million and today the stock is trading below $3.00. Add to that the fact that it is laying off workers, although there are only 22 workers in total, and it could be perceived as a bleak situation.
But the CEO, Timothy C. Rodell, is not cowed—at least not publicly. Instead, he has his game face on and has committed to continuing ongoing trials for various oncology and heptatis C therapies in development, while attempting to implement cost-savings and keep some working capital on hand.
That pragmatic outlook reveals a hint of optimism, but a stock drop from $8.24 to $2.84 must be hard to take.