As the pandemic high wanes, Inovio chops headcount again while chasing Covid win
The Jacqueline Shea era at Inovio will start with a sweeping reorganization.
Still eager to prove that its DNA plasmid technology will yield a Covid-19 booster and a vaccine for HPV, among other things, the biotech says it’s downsizing to reduce operational expenses and extend its cash runway into the third quarter of 2024.
As a result, 18% of its employees — and 86% of the contractors — will be laid off. Based on Inovio’s annual report noting that it employed 317 people as of February, that would translate to about 57 full-time staffers being let go.
“By driving operational efficiencies throughout our organization, we are focused on advancing our lead pipeline candidates toward commercialization and optimizing our chances of success,” Shea said in a statement.
It’s not the first time Inovio has had to hunker down. Under Shea’s predecessor, founding CEO Joseph Kim, the 40-year-old biotech had dedicated itself to multiple candidates — drawing criticism of being a “Johnny-on-the-spot” — none of which came near approval. In 2019, Kim vowed to create “a more efficient organization with greater financial flexibility and a longer runway” when he slashed the workforce by 28% and axed a suite of early-stage programs.
Despite its failed efforts at developing DNA vaccines for previous infectious disease outbreaks such as MERS and Ebola, Inovio still managed to seize the opportunity amid the Covid-19 pandemic to promote itself. Kim landed a seat at the table with former President Donald Trump, alongside other established vaccine makers. At one point in 2020, its shares $INO swelled to near $30, partially explaining how Inovio grew its ranks again after the 2019 layoffs left the headcount at 200.
It now sits at just below $2 per share.
To this day, Inovio’s Covid shot, INO-4800, remains in clinical trials. The company has said it would focus on testing INO-4800 as a booster to other vaccines (making it a “heterologous” booster) rather than a primary series vaccine option. Data readouts for its HPV programs are also expected soon.
The pipeline also features programs in cancer and other infectious diseases, although Shea noted that her team is working on “improving our prioritization processes.”
