In bid to ex­tend cash run­way, Cara to lay off work­ers, dis­con­tin­ue PhI­II pro­gram in chron­ic kid­ney dis­ease

Cara Ther­a­peu­tics is cut­ting its work­force by near­ly 50% and end­ing a Phase III pro­gram in­ves­ti­gat­ing an oral ver­sion of its opi­oid pep­tide in pa­tients with chron­ic kid­ney dis­ease.

The Stam­ford, CT-based biotech has been in­ves­ti­gat­ing oral dife­like­falin against dif­fer­ent dis­eases that cause pru­ri­tus — the med­ical term for itch­ing — but it has faced mul­ti­ple hur­dles in re­cent months.

By con­duct­ing lay­offs that in­clude the ex­it of its head of R&D Frédérique Men­za­ghi and shut­ter­ing its chron­ic kid­ney dis­ease pro­gram, the com­pa­ny now ex­pects to ex­tend its cash run­way in­to 2026. It had 106 em­ploy­ees as of March 2023.

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