Cell therapy company lays off half its staff

Arsenal Bio, one of the few cell therapy companies that was able to raise significant capital amid a prolonged downturn for the field, laid off 50% of its staff, a spokesperson confirmed to STAT.

The company, launched in 2019, raised $325 million last November and likely took in more cash three months later, when Bristol Myers Squibb licensed an experimental cell therapy developed under a longstanding collaboration. Related Story

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It was a rare bright spot in a field that many investors had seemed to lose faith in. After an initial wave of CAR-T therapies showed powerful results in blood cancers and won approval, venture firms whipped up a dizzying list of startups that promised to create new cell therapies t