Vir Biotechnology to shed 12% of workforce as part of corporate restructuring (NASDAQ:VIR)

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) plans to cuts its workforce by around 12% and close two of its R&D facilities as part of an effort to refocus the company on its hepatitis and antibody programs.

The company said in a statement that it intends to prioritize its chronic hepatitis delta and chronic hepatitis B development programs, along with broadening its monoclonal antibody platform beyond infectious diseases and into autoimmune diseases and oncology.

As part of the restructuring, Vir will be closing its R&D facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, and Portland, Oregon, in 2024. It will also be eliminating around 75 positions, with the reductions slated to be largely completed by Q1 2024.

As a result, Vir expects to incur charges of $30M to $40M, of which $3M to $4M will be cash expenditures. The charges will be recognized through Q3 2024. The cuts are expected to save the company around $40M per year.

The company reported it had $1.7B in cash and equivalents in Q3 2023.

Vir added that it expects to report new clinical data from its Phase 2 study for drug candidates VIR-3434 and VIR-2218 in the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta in Q2 2024.