Chroma Medicine laid off an undisclosed number of employees earlier this week, as the privately held startup focuses its resources on moving its first epigenetic editors into human testing.
The Boston-based biotech is developing drugs that change gene expression, by adding or removing methyl groups, rather than changes to DNA like typical gene-editing efforts. After publicly launching in 2021, Chroma has raised over $250 million, including a $135 million Series B announced last March.
“Having demonstrated the efficiency, durability and specificity of our epigenetic editors, Chroma Medicine is now focused on advancing our most transformative programs to the clinic,” Chroma CEO Catherine Stehman-Breen told Endpoints News in a statement. “We will strategically shift resources and efforts to prioritize the transition to a clinical stage company.”
The company declined to say how many employees were let go but said the cuts included general, administrative and R&D roles.
Chroma has not provided a timeline for when it aims to begin human testing. The biotech has previously presented preclinical data on two epigenetic editors targeting the hepatitis B virus and the cholesterol-linked PCSK9 gene. Other epigenetic editing startups, also still in the preclinical stages of research, include Durham, North Carolina-based Tune Therapeutics, gene editing researcher Stanley Qi’s Epic Bio, and Moonwalk Biosciences, co-founded by CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang.