Bay Area biotech company, down from $1B to $78M, lays off a third of workers

"Sutro Biopharma was once worth $1 billion, another Bay Area biotech company with deep coffers and a novel research plan. And now, like at so many of its peers, the layoffs are stacking up. After cutting about half of its staff in March, Sutro revealed plans on Monday to lay off about a third of its remaining workers. The company, which designs cancer treatments called antibody-drug conjugates, announced the new layoffs in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, writing that its restructuring effort would extend its cash runway into mid-2027."

"A day later, workers started getting their pink slips. A WARN filing from Sutro, delivered to California officials and obtained by SFGATE, says the layoffs would begin on Tuesday and include eight workers in San Carlos, one remote employee and 45 at the company's headquarters in South San Francisco. Most of the layoffs are hitting workers in scientist, researcher and engineer roles, per the WARN, but a few directors of various types are also losing their jobs."

"Sutro now has three antibody-drug conjugates in the works - these treatments are designed to target specific cancer cells, sparing the healthy cells around them. CEO Jane Chung, in a Monday press release, wrote that the company is on track to get one of those treatments into clinical trials this year. The layoffs, or "operational efficiencies," as she alluded to them, serve the goal of keeping the company alive until at least that trial data comes in, and another trial can kick off."

Sutro Biopharma cut about half its staff in March and announced plans to lay off roughly a third of remaining employees to extend its cash runway into mid-2027. WARN filings indicate layoffs beginning immediately across San Carlos, South San Francisco headquarters and one remote role, primarily affecting scientists, researchers and engineers, with staggered dates through mid-December. Earlier moves included shutting a manufacturing facility, deprioritizing its only clinical-stage drug candidate and replacing top executives. The company continues development of three antibody-drug conjugates and aims to begin a clinical trial for one candidate this year, framing cuts as operational efficiencies to preserve runway until trial data arrives.

Read at SFGATE