EyePoint to cut workforce by half after experimental drug fails second late-stage trial

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Mon 12:36

Oct 19 (Reuters) - EyePoint EYPT.O on Monday said it would cut about 53% of its workforce and stop studies of its experimental eye drug for an age-related vision disease after it failed a second late-stage trial.
Here are more details: 
The trial tested EyePoint's Duravyu against Regeneron's REGN.O blockbuster eye medicine Eylea in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older adults
While patients given Duravyu showed improved vision, the drug failed to prove as effective as the standard treatment in preserving eyesight, EyePoint said
The company had 214 full-time employees as of February 27, all based in the US, according to a regulatory filing
The setback follows a similar failure in August, when Duravyu missed the main goal in an identical late-stage study, triggering a more than 65% fall in its shares
EyePoint said the workforce reduction and ending of trials was expected to save about $30 million annually
The company estimates it will record roughly $9 million in related severance charges
EyePoint said it will shift its focus and resources to developing Duravyu for diabetic macular edema, another retinal disease, with late-stage trial results expected in the fourth quarter of 2027
EyePoint shares were halted in premarket trading

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))