Cellectis to cut 70% of workforce in strategic pivot to in vivo therapies
French biotech Cellectis reports it will reduce its workforce by up to 70% over the next two years. The company is dropping its traditional clinical-stage cell therapies to focus entirely on in vivo gene editing candidates, following a broader industry shift toward body-internal therapies.
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Strategic Pivot
Cellectis announced in its third-quarter financial results that it will cut global headcount by up to 70% through 2026 and 2027. This reorganization follows the company's September decision to scrap its clinical-stage allogeneic CAR-T treatments, lasme-cel and eti-cel, due to shifting commercial and clinical landscapes.
Pipeline Shift
The Paris-based biotech is now reallocating its resources toward preclinical in vivo candidates, specifically HEAL-101 for severe hypertriglyceridemia and HEAL-201 for severe hypercholesterolemia. CEO André Choulika noted that preclinical data for HEAL-101 showed strong gene editing rates in humanized liver models, with initial clinical trials targeted for China.
Industry Trend
This move mirrors a broader industry trend where major pharmaceutical companies and biotechs are moving away from traditional ex vivo cell therapies. Competitors like Gilead's Kite Pharma, AbbVie, and Eli Lilly have recently made multi-billion-dollar investments and acquisitions to secure in vivo therapy pipelines.
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