After discontinuing development for its lead drug, Imara is cutting 83% of its workforce in a move that will leave the company with only six full-time employees.
Kenneth Attie, M.D., Imara’s chief medical officer, is a C-suite casualty of the layoff who is set to leave April 20. Attie joined Imara in January 2021 and previously served as VP of medical research at Acceleron Pharma for more than a decade.
Imara’s board of directors approved the move April 12, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. About 33 employees will be let go by the end of the second quarter, a spokesperson told Fierce Biotech.
The layoff follows Imara’s decision to end development of tovinontrine, or IMR-687, in sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction after a failed phase 2 trial. The Boston-based company is also discontinuing development of IMR-261, its nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 activator program.
The cutbacks are aimed at significantly reducing operating expenses while the clinical-stage biotech assesses its options, including a potential sale or merger, the spokesperson said.
Imara's move isn’t an anomaly. Instead, it’s part of a much larger industry trend, with at least 10 other biotechs making similar decisions so far this month.
To read more about layoffs across the biotech industry, check out Fierce Biotech's Layoff Tracker.