Cancer and autoimmune disorder-focused biotech Rubius Therapeutics announced this week that it would be closing its doors.
The Massachusetts-based biotech made the news public in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, disclosing its plans to liquidate and dissolve.
The company was developing a pipeline of proprietary red cell therapeutics (RCT) products, which were engineered to express combinations of co-stimulatory molecules and cytokines on their cell surface to engage both the adaptive and innate immune systems.
Last September, Rubius confirmed that it would be letting go of 75% of its workers in an attempt to reevaluate its three open clinical trials; RTX-240 as a mono therapy and in combination and RTX-224 for the treatment of solid tumors. At the time, the company slashed two of the trials and said it would "align resources to advance its next generation red blood cell-based cell conjugation platform."
Rubius is not the first biotech to throw in the towel this year. Earlier this month, Aristea Therapeutics, an AstraZeneca spinout, halted development and decided to dissolve the company entirely. Meanwhile, Massachusetts-based biotech Magenta Therapeutics reduced operations to "preserve financial resources," a move that involved cutting decided to cut 84% of its workforce.
