Shattuck Labs has dropped by nearly 45% after it announced plans to reduce its headcount and discontinue its lead cancer therapy programme, SL-172154.
The restructuring decision was made after interim data from a Phase Ib trial (NCT05275439) showed a lack of a definitive overall survival (OS) benefit in patients receiving SL-172154. The company added that the ‘modest’ improvements in the OS seen in Phase I would likely erode in larger late-stage studies.
Following the announcement, Shattuck’s stock was down by 44.99% at market close on 1 October, compared to market close on the previous day. The company’s market cap currently stands at $81.6m.
SL-172154 is a cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47) inhibitors, which were investigated as a treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). In February, Shattuck licensed out multiple potential drug candidates, including SL-172154, to Ono Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth more than $227m.
As part of the restructuring, the companies have mutually terminated the agreement and Shattuck is “no longer required to satisfy any remaining performance obligations and will not receive any future research activity reimbursements or upfront, milestone, or royalty payments from Ono”.
The cost-saving measures also cull 40% of the workforce by the end of the year and will cost between $1.5m and $1.75m. Shattuck reported cash reserves of $105.3m as of 30 June, as per the latest SEC filing by the company.
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The company plans to funnel its remaining resources into developing its antibody therapy, SL-325. The DR3 antagonist acts by modulating adaptive immunity, as DR3 is expressed on the cell surface of various immune cells. Shattuck is developing SL-325 as a treatment for inflammatory autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The company plans to file an investigational new drug application (IND) for SL-325 in Q3 2025. Shattuck noted that it has sufficient funds to finance beyond its planned Phase I clinical trial of SL-325 and into 2027.
Following the recent round of lay-offs, Shattuck joins the list of pharmaceutical companies, including Atreca, Candel Therapeutics, Cidara Therapeutics, Kinnate Bio, and NexImmune, which have cut their workforces to reallocate funds into their clinical development pipelines in the last few months.
