Welcome to Fierce Biotech’s fifth annual layoff tracker, a resource designed to keep pace with the sector’s steady stream of workforce reductions.
In 2025, industry layoffs continued to rise year over year, prompting the need for another edition of this article.
As always, please reach out to the Fierce Biotech editorial team with any news of a biopharma workforce reduction. We are committed to protecting the anonymity of all tips, but we do conduct further reviews to verify all information we receive.
Editor’s note about the numbers: Layoff rounds that are part of a company’s larger, already-announced reorganization are not included in the monthly total count.
March—11 companies
March 17 - Gossamer Bio: The biotech is cutting its workforce by 48% after the company’s phase 3 study of seralutinib in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension missed its primary endpoint. Gossamer is evaluating strategic options and conserving cash with the 77-role reduction. Source
March 17 - Bicycle Therapeutics: The biotech is letting more air out of its operations, with plans to deflate its employee count by about 30% and shelve its lead anti-cancer drug conjugate. The reprioritization is meant to halve yearly operating costs and will likely impact about 86 roles. Story
March 12 - Inovio: The Pennsylvania-based biotech said it had "eliminated roles that don't directly support" its primary goal of securing approval for its rare disease drug INO-3107. Annual reports from the company show the number of employees dropped to 112 people from a February 2025 figure of 134. Story
March 12 - Vistagen: The Bay Area biotech is doubling down on its lead social anxiety candidate despite a phase 3 trial failure last December. The company is laying off about 20% of its staff to ensure it has the cash to finish another ongoing phase 3 trial of the anti-anxiety nasal spray candidate. Story
March 11 - Amgen: The California-based pharma is laying off 22 staffers from Horizon Therapeutics by early May, according to a Maryland WARN alert. Back in 2023, Amgen acquired the rare disease company in a $27.8 billion transaction.
"We are making organizational changes that will affect some roles at our Rockville research and development location," an Amgen spokesperson told Fierce. "These changes are part of a broader effort to align our operations with our research strategy to best serve our patients. We are working to support impacted employees through this transition." Source
March 10 - Evotec: The German company is escalating its already substantial reorganization, with plans to lay off 800 employees and shutter four sites in the next two years. Story
March 10 - f5 Therapeutics: The Molecular glue-focused biotech f5 Therapeutics has failed to stick around for the long haul, shuttering after six years. According to LinkedIn, the biotech employed up to 10 employees. Story
March 6 - Vertex Pharmaceuticals: The pharma has laid off about 20 staffers in Massachusetts as part of a "functional reorganization," a spokesperson told Fierce Biotech, though overall Vertex's workforce in the state "continues to grow."
March 5 - Alltrna: After laying off 10% of its team last August, Flagship Pioneering-backed Alltrna is reducing its workforce by 19 people, or about 34%. The decision was made to “position Alltrna for success as we accelerate toward the clinic with our first engineered tRNA drug candidate,” a spokesperson told Fierce. Story
March 3 - EveryOne Medicines: The individualized medicines biotech has closed its doors, according to Endpoints News, impacting an unknown number of workers. The shutdown comes of the heels of FDA details surrounding its new approval pathway for bespoke gene therapies, guidance that fell below EveryOne's expectations, a person familiar with the matter told Endpoints. Source
March 3 - Theravance Biopharma: Following the phase 3 failure of its rare blood pressure disorder drug, the Dublin- and San Francisco-based biotech is cutting 50% of its employees, shutting down its R&D department and focusing commercial activity on its approved COPD treatment. The company said layoffs will be implemented over the following two quarters. Story
February—9 organizations
Feb. 27 - Disc Medicine: After an FDA rebuff, the rare disease biotech is laying off a fifth of its workforce, or about 30 people. The layoffs, which Disc expects to be completed in the second quarter, will primarily affect commercial roles and “certain supporting functions,” the company said. Story
Feb. 27 - Merck & Co.: Facing vaccine pressures in multiple markets, the pharma is pruning the ranks at one of its key U.S. production facilities. In a WARN alert, Merck revealed that it is laying off 147 staffers at its vaccine manufacturing plant in Durham, plus seven other employees who report to a different address in the city, which is part of North Carolina’s Research Triangle region. Story
Feb. 26 - Viatris: After kicking off an enterprisewide strategic review a year ago, Viatris plans to cut its global workforce of 32,000 by about 10% over the next three years. The company aims to save $600 million to $700 million annually once the plan is complete. Story
Feb. 17 - Concerto Biosciences: The microbial-focused biotech is laying off an undisclosed number of staffers as it turns its focus to consumer products and applications, according to a statement shared by the company. New discovery and development work will fit into this consumer focus, prompting a workforce reduction to "better align" Concerto's resources with the shift.
Feb. 12 - Ultragenyx: Employees at the biopharma had already been warned at the end of December that the failure of a pair of phase 3 studies for its brittle bone disease candidate meant cost cutting was coming. It turns out this will involve laying off around 130 employees—equivalent to 10% of the company's total headcount. Story
Feb. 12 - Seres Therapeutics: Just months after laying off a quarter of its workforce to focus resources on a phase 2 study of its bloodstream infection preventive treatment SER-155, Seres announced that it will shrink its headcount by a further 30% and halt investment in that trial. Instead, the company “will shift its operational focus to high-value earlier-stage pipeline programs.” Story
Feb. 5 - ARPA-H: The federal research agency, which is designed to drive medical breakthroughs, has laid off an undisclosed number of staffers. "To ensure the agency remains focused on this, ARPA-H continuously evaluates its operations and has adjusted the term appointments of certain staff to better align with mission needs and research priorities," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told Fierce Biotech. "These steps better position ARPA-H to deliver transformational health innovations."
Feb. 2 - GSK: The U.K. pharma is trimming its R&D team, a move expected to affect fewer than 50 workers in the U.K. and fewer than 70 staffers in the U.S. The ultimate number of cuts is still subject to change as the reorganization is finalized, but no more than 350 jobs total will be affected, a company spokesperson told Fierce. Story
Feb. 2 - Thermo Fisher Scientific: An ongoing layoff spree now includes a fresh set of cuts tied to a site that is shuttering in Franklin, Massachusetts. A company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma that the number of layoffs will be capped at 80 staffers. The site currently employs approximately 200 people. Following the cuts, the company expects the remaining roughly 120 employees to relocate to other facilities within the state. Story
January—11 companies
Jan. 30 - Bitterroot Bio: The California cardio-immunology company is restructuring as it goes from the clinic back to preclinical work, according to a post from departing CEO Pavan Cheruvu, M.D. The leader, alongside "many" other team members, will be impacted as Bitterroot turns "to focus on discovery biology and translational research," according to the post. Last year, the biotech had launched a phase 2a trial for an immunomodulating protein drug designed to target CD47. It now appears to have abandoned the program, with Cheruvu writing that "in biotech, even with flawless execution, biology doesn't always go according to plan." LinkedIn
Jan. 30 - IO Biotech: The cancer vaccine specialist has brought in a financial advisor to aid in a strategic review while also implementing a "significant reduction" of the biotech's global workforce. At the same time, the biotech is letting go of Chief Medical Officer Qasim Ahmad, M.D., effective by the end of the day Feb. 15. Release
Jan. 20 - Takeda: After a series of headcount reductions in recent years, Takeda has disclosed a new round of cuts expected to affect 243 field-based employees in 47 states and the District of Columbia tied to the looming patent cliff for antidepressant Trintellix (vortioxetine). The Japanese pharma is shifting resources to prepare for multiple potential medicine launches in the U.S., which could lead to 400 new commercial field roles. Story
Jan. 16 - Vedanta Biosciences: The Massachusetts biotech is “significantly” reducing its headcount to channel resources toward its lead live bacteria cocktail program, a spokesperson confirmed with Fierce. The move follows a 20% workforce reduction last summer after a separate treatment for Enterobacteriaceae failed to reduce disease severity in a phase 2 study. Story
Jan. 13 - Merck KGaA's EMD Serono: Merck KGaA's North American division has laid off an undisclosed amount of employees from its research team at a site in Durham, North Carolina. The move follows last year’s acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics and is part of a decision to streamline research operations, a spokesperson confirmed with Fierce.
Jan. 13 - Sonoma Biotherapeutics: The regulatory T cell-focused biotech confirmed to Fierce that the company is reducing its workforce. While Sonoma wouldn't confirm how many employees will be affected, the biotech said roles across the organization and at "all levels and functions" would be impacted, including those based in South San Francisco, Seattle and remotely. The decision was made to "right-size the organization and align resources with SonomaBio’s highest priorities," such as a phase 1 study of its lead rheumatoid arthritis asset.
Jan. 12 - Lyra Therapeutics: The Massachusetts-based biotech has “decided to suspend further development” of its chronic rhinosinusitis treatment. All 28 of Lyra’s remaining employees will be impacted by a “workforce reduction,” which is one of a number of “cost-saving actions to preserve capital.” Story
Jan. 8 - InflaRx: The German inflammatory and immunology-focused biotech will reduce its headcount by about 30% and chart "substantial spending reductions" as it looks to channel resources toward its new lead asset, izicopan. It's unclear exactly how many employees will be affected; online sources put the company's total headcount at 74 about a year ago. Story
Jan. 8 - Rampart Bioscience: After raising $125 million near the end of 2023, the genetic medicine biotech has appeared to wind down, Endpoints News reported after speaking with two former staffers. The U.S. biotech's website is no longer available. As of publication, Rampart's CEO Louis Breton has not responded to Fierce Biotech's request for comment. Source
Jan. 8 - Tessera Therapeutics: The Flagship-founded company is planning to lay off 90 employees across a number of states starting March 8. The Massachusetts-based biotech isn’t expecting to close any of its facilities in connection with the layoffs. Story
Jan. 2 - Nido Biosciences: After its lead neurological disease candidate disappointed in a midstage study, the neurobiotech is closing its doors. “Just a handful of employees” will be impacted, a Nido spokesperson told Fierce. Story