Sana Biotechnology, a startup that just a couple of years ago raised over $1 billion off a grand plan to create a portfolio of powerful medicines, said Tuesday it would lay off nearly a third of its employees and de-prioritize one of its most ambitious programs as it looks to save money.
The layoffs are Sana’s second round of cuts in less than a year. It laid off 15% of staff last November after axing another program.
Tuesday’s move pushed back a program focused on turning a patient’s own immune cells into cancer-killing assassins or curing blood disorders such as sickle cell with just an IV infusion. Known as in vivo reprogramming, it was originally the company’s central focus and would have amounted to a monumental breakthrough.