Shattuck Labs is laying off 40% of its workforce and discontinuing its CD47 program in acute myeloid leukemia and higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes following disappointing early-stage data.
The company said Tuesday that approval of the drug in those indications “would require meaningful improvement” in overall survival in large randomized studies. The improvements in overall survival were “only modest” in a Phase 1 trial. Shattuck’s stock $STTK dipped about 30% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Several companies that researched CD47 have since exited the field after struggling to get solid clinical results.
“Given Shattuck’s current resources, the lack of a definitive OS benefit to date, and that no CD47 inhibitor has shown a significant efficacy signal in any indication to date,” the company decided to instead focus on a preclinical drug in its pipeline.
Shattuck is now focused on its DR3 antagonist antibody, dubbed SL-325, in inflammatory bowel disease and is planning to file an IND in the third quarter of next year.
“We are announcing a strategic shift to focus on SL-325, a DR3 antagonist antibody designed to achieve a more complete blockade of the clinically validated TL1A/DR3 signaling pathway,” Shattuck CEO Taylor Schreiber said in a statement.
As part of the changes, Shattuck and Ono Pharmaceutical also ended a collaboration and license agreement they announced in February to work on preclinical candidates.
The changes are expected to extend cash runway into 2027. It had 75 full-time employees at the end of 2023.