Kezar changes CEOs, lays off 41% of staff and halts preclinical R&D to extend cash runway

Kezar Life Sci­ences, a 2015 spin­out from Am­gen, is lay­ing off 41% of its work­force and paus­ing all pre­clin­i­cal R&D in a bid to ex­tend its cash run­way in­to late 2026 and move se­lect clin­i­cal pro­grams for­ward, the biotech said Tues­day.

There are al­so sev­er­al ex­ec­u­tive shake­ups: Kezar said co-founder John Fowler will re­sign as CEO on Nov. 7 and for­mer pres­i­dent and CSO Christo­pher Kirk will take over as CEO. CMO Noreen Henig is re­sign­ing on Oct. 6 and Zung To, the se­nior VP of clin­i­cal de­vel­op­ment op­er­a­tions, will take over tri­al ex­e­cu­tion and de­vel­op­ment op­er­a­tions.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.