Another Bay Area biotech company announces layoffs

(KRON) — Another Bay Area biotech company has just cut dozens of jobs. In a state filing with the Employment Development Department, Pliant Therapeutics revealed it had laid off 69 people at its South San Francisco office on Oyster Point Boulevard.

The layoffs, which were announced Friday and took effect immediately, are permanent, according to the state filing.

In a press release Friday announcing the layoffs, Pliant said it was undertaking a “strategic restructuring of its workforce and other cost saving actions to extend the cash runway to support execution of late-stage clinical trials.”

The “restructuring,” of which the layoffs are a part of, is intended to minimize costs and preserve cash reserves while the company awaits topline data from its BEACON-IPF Phase 2b/3 trial of bexotegrast for patients with fibrosis.

Earlier this year, Pliant discontinued its trial of bexotegrast, the firm’s leading drug candidate.

The job cuts, according to the press release, represent about 45% of the company’s total current workforce.

“Today’s actions, while difficult, provide us the flexibility to prepare for, and execute on our mission to make a difference in the lives of patients,” said Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Pliant. “I want to extend my sincere thanks to those impacted by today’s restructuring for their extensive contributions to the advancement of our mission.”

News of the Pliant layoffs follows Monday’s announcement that Unity Biotechnology, another Bay Area biotech firm on the Peninsula, would be letting go its entire workforce.