One quarter of bit.bio’s staff axed as stem cell company drops therapeutics division
Synthetic biology company bit.bio has repositioned its business model to focus on its cell manufacturing strengths, downsizing its therapeutics division with the loss of one quarter of its workforce.
The reduction of its headcount leaves around 150 employees based at the company’s Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Babraham Research headquarters.
The company was apparently 18 months away from filing paperwork to begin a clinical trial of its lead program, a liver cell therapy for liver failure. The therapeutics development work could yet be outsourced for licensing or partnerships, a bit.bio spokesperson has told the Cambridge Independent.
The news follows a flurry of activity at the company which was founded by Mark Kotter in 2016.
In December Dr Kotter relinquished the CEO role to become vice chairman of the business. Cambridge-based investor, entrepreneur and company builder Jonathan Milner became interim CEO on 1 January 2025 - but his tenure was brief. In early February, Dr Milner was replaced as interim CEO by Przemek Obloj, who had joined bit.bio as chief financial officer in July. At the same time Dr Milner, Sir Greg Winter, Weslie Janeway and Hermann Hauser all had their directorships of bit.bio terminated - on 5 February, according to Companies House records. A spokesperson said the board now has six members. “It’s a shift to keep things manageable for a company bit.bio’s size,” she said.
The redundancies are “in line with sharpening our focus on the growing biomedical tools sector while downsizing therapeutics,” said a spokesperson, adding: “This decision was driven by shifting market conditions and the need to prioritise our core strengths, including opti-ox technology-based cell programming, industrial scale manufacturing, and our expanding ioCells product portfolio, which continues to gain traction globally.
“We remain focused on delivering highly defined human cells to researchers and drug developers to accelerate scientific discovery. Our $30million fundraising in December reinforced our strong financial position and investor confidence, enabling us to expand our product catalogue, enhance data packages and protocols, and deepen partnerships with biotech and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate adoption in drug discovery and translational research.
“While our internal focus has narrowed, bit.bio remains committed to advancing cell therapy through strategic collaborations. Our partnering model enables the creation of new, high-quality cell types that can serve as the foundation for innovative cell therapies, reinforcing our commitment to supporting advancements in the field.
“We are exploring ways of bringing our therapeutics pipeline to market, which may include licensing or partnerships. However, it is too early to discuss any specifics.
“Our primary focus remains on industrialising cell programming and manufacturing and expanding our research tools offerings, while continuing to evaluate ways to maximise the value of our platform.”
None of the departing directors have commented on the developments.
