Passage Bio lays off 26% of staff, lets two executives go a year after downsizing, leadership shuffle

Gene therapy biotech Passage Bio will let go about one-quarter of its workforce and is parting ways with two executives, nine months after a new CEO was hired to right the ship.

Finance chief Simona King and technical leader Alex Fotopoulos “will separate from” Passage Bio around the end of this month, the biotech said in a Thursday SEC filing. Filling the interim CFO role is finance VP Kathleen Borthwick.

Alongside their departures, the Philadelphia biotech is going through what it calls “an organizational redesign” as it lays off 26% of its workforce, “primarily in its CMC group.” At the end of 2022, Passage Bio had 85 full-time employees. The restructuring affects about 20 employees, a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Endpoints News.

“This decision was made after careful evaluation of operating requirements to advance its two lead clinical programs to key inflection points. With this restructuring and other initiatives, the company has significantly reduced the cost structure at its CMC site, while retaining the critical analytical and process development capabilities that will allow efficient advancement of its GM1 and FTD programs,” the spokesperson said. “Passage remains on track to report interim clinical data for it two lead programs, PBGM01 for GM1 gangliosidosis and PBFT02 for frontotemporal dementia (FTD), in 2023.”

William Chou

The moves will extend Passage Bio’s runway from the previously guided first half of 2025 and into the fourth quarter of that year.

A few days into the CEO post last October, ex-Kymriah leader William Chou told Endpoints he was intent on keeping the “brain power” at the then 110-employee biotech.

“Building culture and building a cohesiveness is going to be so important as we move forward at Passage. It’s something that’s important for every biotech company,” Chou said at the time, “but I know Passage has been through a lot, so really it’s something we’re going to focus on as we move forward.”

In 2022, CEO and board member Bruce Goldsmith and the company came to a “mutual agreement” for him to leave. Passage also went through layoffs, an R&D chief quit and so did a board member.

The biotech’s shares $PASG have long traded well below its February 2020 Nasdaq entry, going from an $18 IPO to just over $1 as of today.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include comment from Passage Bio. 

gene therapy
biotech
shares
nasdaq