BLUE - Bluebird bio to cut 30% of workforce amid plans to target up to $160M cost savings

Bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) announced plans to reduce its staff by nearly 30% on Tuesday as the troubled gene therapy biotech targets up to $160 million in cost savings over the next two years in a bid to extend the cash runway into 1H 2023. The restructuring initiative includes plans to deprioritize direct investments in reduced toxicity conditioning and cryopreserved apheresis, bluebird (BLUE) said. However, the company expects to focus on near-term catalysts, including a potential FDA approval of gene therapies for beta-thalassemia and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy in 2022. In 1Q 2023, it expects to submit a biologics license application (BLA) for lovotibeglogene autotemcel (lovo-cel) targeting sickle cell disease. The restructuring drive is expected to lower the company’s 2022 cash burn to less than $340 million, with a 35% – 40% decline in operating costs anticipated by year-end 2022. A conference call on the plans is scheduled to start on Tuesday at 8:00

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Bluebird bio to cut 30% of workforce amid plans to target up to $160M cost savings