New Haven-based biotech company Arvinas Inc. announced Thursday that it’s cutting 131 employees, or about a third of its workforce.
The layoffs, which include 92 Connecticut residents, are intended to “streamline operations across the organization and enable the efficient progression of the company’s portfolio.”
The layoffs were reported to the state and city of New Haven in a notice required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
According to the notice, which is dated April 30, the layoffs include employees who work at the company’s office at 5 Science Park in New Haven, as well as remote workers who report to the facility.
According to the company’s annual report, as of Dec. 31, it employed approximately 430 full-time workers.
“Of these full-time employees, 330 employees were engaged in research and development activities, with over 280 employees possessing advanced degrees, and approximately 100 employees were engaged in general and administrative activities,” the annual report states.
The WARN Act notice states the layoffs are expected to be permanent. The company said the staff reduction is planned to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Arvinas, a clinical-stage biotechnology company working on treatments for breast and prostate cancers, also said it is removing two Phase 3 trials from its vepdegestrant development plan in the wake of “mixed data.”
Vepdegestrant, a breast cancer treatment, is being jointly developed by Arvinas and Pfizer Inc. Arvinas signed a blockbuster $2.4 billion deal with Pfizer in 2021.
The layoffs were referenced in the company’s first-quarter earnings report, which noted that as of March 31, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $954.3 million, compared to $1.04 billion as of Dec. 31.
Arvinas said the decrease of $85.1 million primarily related to cash used in operations, the purchase of lab equipment and leasehold improvements and long-term debt repayments, partially offset by unrealized gains on marketable securities.
During the first quarter, Arvinas reported a significant increase in revenue: $188.8 million vs. $25.3 million in the year-ago period.
It also reported an $82.9 million, or $1.14 per share, profit, reversing a $69.4 million loss in the year-ago period.
In September, Arvinas disclosed it was scrapping plans to occupy 163,784 square feet of space at 101 College St., a new 525,000-square-foot life sciences tower developed by Carter Winstanley. The company said it agreed to pay the landlord a $41.5 million lease termination fee.
In December, Arvinas disclosed it had renewed its leases at 4 and 5 Science Park and extended them to Dec. 31, 2029. The leases were set to expire at the end of this year.
