Ring Therapeutics, a gene therapy startup navigated by Flagship Pioneering, has relieved its workforce of just under 20%, reflecting to about 19 employees, confirmed by Flagship to STAT. This move arises in tandem with the actions of Sonata Therapeutics, another Flagship startup, which also has let go of a third of its staff.

The staff cuts ensue in an environment marked by a broader retrenchment by platform companies. This is due to the continuing financial drought afflicting private biotechs, forcing startups aiming to create new technologies, a process intrinsically fraught with expensive challenges and detours, to take difficult decisions regarding staffing and priorities.

Ring specialized in a challenging area. The company’s focus lay in tailoring a fresh line of viruses which could function as proficient couriers for transferring genes into patients’ cells. Known as anelloviruses, these microscopic organisms exhibited potential of turning out safer and more adaptable than the present category of viruses used for gene therapy, which are known as AAVs.

Source: Ring Therapeutics, a Flagship gene therapy startup, lays off 20% of staff.