Coherus cuts 30% of workforce to focus on esophageal cancer drug trials
Coherus Oncology is cutting 30% of its workforce as it narrows its clinical focus primarily onto esophageal cancer. The decision follows early-stage trial data showing strong anti-tumor activity when combining its experimental antibody tagmokitug with its approved drug Loqtorzi, prompting the company to reduce costs and extend its cash runway.
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Coherus Oncology announced a 30% reduction in its workforce as the company scales back its broader cancer pipeline to focus specifically on esophageal indications for its investigational combination therapy.
Last month, Coherus reported phase 1b data for the combination of tagmokitug, a CCR8-targeting antibody, and its approved PD-1 blocker Loqtorzi. According to the company, the combination demonstrated a confirmed overall response rate of 75% in front-line esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients, regardless of PD-L1 status. Chief Medical Officer Rosh Dias stated that the data suggest regulatory T cells are a critical driver of resistance, and that tagmokitug enhances PD-1 activity.
To align with this narrowed strategy, Chief Financial Officer Bryan McMichael reported that the workforce reduction and pipeline narrowing will lower core cash burn by $6 million to $7 million quarterly over the next two quarters. The company reported third-quarter revenue of $14 million for Loqtorzi, its FDA-approved treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and ended September with $83.6 million in cash. Coherus plans to maintain selected other trials, including a phase 1b study with Johnson & Johnson and an ongoing phase 2 trial in liver cancer, while aiming for financial self-sufficiency.
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