DBV restructuring claims 200 jobs as it beats out a path toward peanut patch OK
Regulatory troubles around its peanut allergy treatment have hurt DBV Technologies bad.
It became even clearer Thursday morning as the French biotech disclosed the scope of a global restructuring it announced back in June. More than 200 jobs are being cut, leaving a team of 90 to carry on with the hard task of scoring approval for its Viaskin Peanut patch.

With a formal go-ahead from authorities in France, CEO Daniel Tassé expects the measures to reduce average monthly cash burn by up to half, thereby keeping the company afloat until late 2022.
The troubles for DBV began more than two years ago, when DBV pulled its first FDA submission. Back then, it had been in a neck-to-neck race with Aimmune to deliver the first product that can help children build up tolerance to peanuts.
While Aimmune — now acquired by Nestle — has a pill, DBV is engineering a patch for kids to wear hours at a time. The FDA, however, has taken issue with manufacturing procedures and quality controls as well as patch adhesion. Soon after the company revealed the restructuring plans, its second application was rejected.
DBV has not stated when it plans to refile a BLA, but Tassé notes that the future focus will be on “late stages of clinical development.” Other than Viaskin Peanut, the biotech also has patch programs for cow’s milk allergy and hen’s egg allergy.