NEW YORK – IN8bio this week announced strategic changes that will allow it to focus its resources on developing the allogeneic gamma delta T-cell therapy, INB-100, in post-transplant acute myeloid leukemia patients.
Among the changes, the firm, which was developing autologous and allogeneic cell therapies, said it is laying off 49 percent of its workforce, which will reduce the number of full-time employees across its New York City and Birmingham, Alabama, sites from 37 to 19. In parallel, IN8bio's executive management team and board will take an 11 percent cut to their cash compensation.
As part of the strategic shift, IN8bio is deprioritizing the investigational glioblastoma treatments in its pipeline, including the autologous therapy INB-200 and INB-400, a potential autologous or allogeneic therapy. IN8bio will continue to monitor patients already enrolled in a Phase I trial of INB-200, but the firm will suspend further enrollment in a Phase II trial underway for INB-400. IN8bio is hoping to advance these drugs with a development partner and is looking for opportunities.
Meanwhile, the firm is sharpening its focus on INB-100, which demonstrated a 100 percent one-year progression-free survival rate in an investigator-sponsored Phase I AML trial. As of Aug. 30, at a median follow-up of 18.7 months, the firm said every patient in this trial remained relapse-free.
With the savings from the workforce reduction and after deprioritizing the glioblastoma trials, the firm expects to have the resources to continue enrolling an expansion cohort that will receive the recommended Phase II dose of INB-100 and report long-term follow-up data in late 2025 and 2026.
"We are making the difficult decision to advance fewer pipeline programs, reduce our spend, and focus on key milestones that can help to generate near-term interest and value creation," IN8bio CEO and Cofounder William Ho said in a statement. "These are hard but necessary steps to enable us to continue developing these novel cellular immunotherapies that are demonstrating signs of clinical activity in difficult cancer patients."
The company expects to incur $300,000 in expenses related to the workforce reduction in Q3.