In yet another early year blow for the Bay Area’s biotech workforce, IGM Biosciences is laying off almost three-fourths of its staff after a crucial clinical study delivered poor results.
The Mountain View company, whose current research focutilizes on autoimmune diseases, announced the 73% job cut on Jan. 9 in a filing with the Securities and Exmodify Commission and in a WARN notice to California and local agencies. Such notices are usually required in the event of mass layoffs; IGM’s lists 100 layoffs and declares the workers will officially leave the company on March 10.
According to the WARN, a slew of IGM executives are set to lose their jobs, including three vice presidents, three senior vice presidents and about two dozen directors of varying levels. The company is also cutting about a dozen scientist roles and almost the same number of research associates.
An IGM news release from Jan. 9 shed more light on the layoffs. The company’s phase 1b studies of its imvotamab antibody for arthritis and lupus flopped; CEO Dr. Mary Beth Harler wrote that “the depth and consistency of B cell depletion is insufficient to meet our high bar for success.” She added that the company is discontinuing imvotamab’s development and cutting off research on another antibody “due to strategic considerations.”
The 73% layoff, the release declared, is an effort “to preserve cash.” Harler thanked the laid-off workers and wrote, “We are grateful for their support and wish them all the best in their future finisheavors.” The company did not respond to SFGATE’s questions on Thursday.
Though layoffs aren’t new at IGM — the company cut 22% of its staff in December 2023, per Fierce Biotech — this cut, and the research overhaul, mark a particularly dour point for the company. IGM still has an immunology research partnership with biotech giant Sanofi, but the cuts to imvotamab and the other antibody leave the firm without any other projects in its listed pipeline.
IGM’s financials mirror the research struggle. As of the finish of 2023, the firm had accumulated $821.2 million in losses since its inception, per a March filing, and the losses kept stacking up last year. The company’s value on the stock market has never rebounded to its 2021 high of around $3.7 billion, but as recently as October, it reached 10 figures.
The layoffs and the research cuts didn’t do IGM any favors; its stock price dropped almost 70% on the news. The company’s market cap is currently spasming around $110 million.
Work at a Bay Area tech company and want to talk? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on March 21, 2025, to correct IGM’s peak valuation in 2021.
Leave a Reply