Cyteir Therapeutics Inc. is leading a pack of companies that have taken a hard look at their future and don’t care for what they see. According to BioWorld data, at least 100 biopharma companies have announced restructurings and layoffs this year, resulting in more than 8,400 jobs lost. Other companies either packing it in, restructuring from within or considering new paths include Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bellerophon Therapeutics Inc., Calithera Biosciences Inc. and Spexis AG.
Cyteir Therapeutics Inc., a Lexington, Mass.-based company exploiting synthetic lethality to fight cancer, is extending its series B financing with $40.2 million to support a recently launched phase I/II study of its lead candidate, CYT-0851, an oral small-molecule inhibitor of the protein RAD51.