Aligos cuts another 10% of its workforce in reprioritization for NASH and Covid pipelines

NASH and Covid-focused Aligos Therapeutics announced that it is reorganizing its pipeline and cutting around 10% of its staff to extend its cash resources through the end of 2024.

In all, there’s been a 25% reduction in the overall workforce at Aligos since the beginning of 2022, according to the company. As of Sept. 30, 2022, Aligos had 89 full-time employees, including 72 employees in research and development, according to SEC filings.

Now the focus will be on Aligos’ prioritized pipeline: the NASH candidate ALG-055009, an oligonucleotide research collaboration with Merck also for NASH, ALG-097558 for Covid-19 and two hepatitis B programs.

A smaller workforce also means the company is consolidating two South San Francisco locations into its headquarters. Sites in Belgium and China are “expected to remain in operation.”

Lawrence Blatt

“With such a diverse clinical portfolio, including four drug candidates in or near the clinic, as well as maintaining a strong discovery engine, where we continue to support multiple research collaborations, we determined that Aligos would be best positioned to achieve its business objectives by taking action now to streamline operations, reprioritize its portfolio, and implement certain cost-saving measures, including a reduction in force,” Aligos CEO and board chairman Lawrence Blatt said in a statement.

Aligos plans to complete two Phase I trials this year: for ALG-055009, the THR-β agonist in NASH; and ALG-097558, a pan-coronavirus protease inhibitor that does not require ritonavir boosting. Ritonavir is an antiretroviral medication typically used in HIV/AIDS.

For ALG-055009, Aligos is preparing for a Phase II filing by the end of 2023. The biotech is also planning to start a Phase II study for the Covid candidate by the end of the year.

The pipeline for chronic hepatitis B is a little more uncertain. The two candidates are in Phase I trials and the company plans to “review next steps” based on the data that come out.

Early last year, Aligos had to axe two lead programs within three months for chronic hepatitis B after disappointing Phase I data in one and a safety issue in another.

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