In 2023, ReNAgade Therapeutics launched with $300 million to exploit an “all in one” technology solution for RNA-based therapies. That same year, Tome Biosciences emerged from stealth with $213 million to develop new gene editors, and Aera Therapeutics launched with $193 million to solve the delivery challenge for gene therapies.
By the end of 2024, ReNAgade employees had faced multiple rounds of layoffs including through a corporate merger, Tome had abruptly gone from 130 employees to closure, and Aera had laid off a quarter of its staff. These are emblematic examples of the new landscape that the biotech workforce faces.
While working at biotech startups has always involved risk, the biotech industry has recently evolved into an especially volatile dynamic. The high costs and complexity of drug development are forcing investors to channel risks into more narrowly focused companies. Those companies rush to either meet their near-term milestones, hoping to get acquired by large pharma, or fail and judiciously return capital to shareholders. In either case, change and turnover are the new normal for biotech workers.
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