Metagenomi announced a strategic evolution focusing capital on the development of its wholly-owned MGX-001 hemophilia A program and later-stage preclinical pipeline while reducing its workforce by 25%. To support the next phase of development, Jian Irish, Ph.D., M.B.A, the Company’s President and former Chief Operating Officer, has been promoted to the role of Chief Executive Officer, and Brian Thomas, Ph.D., the Company’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer, will remain on the Board of Directors and current Board member Dr. Willard Dere will serve as the Company’s new Board Chair.
“In light of the encouraging preclinical MGX-001 hemophilia A results we reported today, we made the decision to strategically reprioritize our pipeline and discovery efforts to focus resources on driving forward our lead program for hemophilia A and pursuing programs that leverage our most advanced, signature gene-editing capabilities. These include programs addressing additional secreted protein deficiencies that deploy the site-specific genome integration system used in MGX-001, and cardiometabolic indications in collaboration with Ionis.” said Jian Irish, Ph.D., M.B.A., President and Chief Executive Officer of Metagenomi. “We are committed to our most compelling programs that have the highest probability of success, and potential to address unmet needs and create near-term value. We are capitalizing on our most advanced gene editing technologies while maintaining financial discipline to drive sustainable growth and long-term value. I am honored to share this vision with a seasoned leadership team as we enter this new phase of the Metagenomi story.”
Dr. Irish continued, “As part of this initiative, we are streamlining our organization to optimize our R&D efforts and cost structure, which is anticipated to extend our cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2027. I want to express my deepest gratitude to every member of the Metagenomi team, including those who were impacted by the workforce reduction, for their invaluable contributions toward advancing our mission. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Thomas, whose novel vision in applying metagenomics towards drug discovery led to all we have accomplished to date. I look forward to continuing to work with him and the other members of the Board and appreciate their ongoing support.”
“The Board of Directors is pleased that Dr. Irish is assuming the role of CEO as Metagenomi advances toward the clinic and its next stage of development,” added Willard Dere, M.D., current director and newly appointed Board Chair. “She brings a wealth of experience having held development and global operations positions with Kite Pharma / Gilead, Sanofi and Amgen, and having played key roles in the launch of several breakthrough medicines. As a co-founder of Metagenomi, we believe this is the right time for her to step into this role.”
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