NexImmune Cuts 53 percent of Workforce to Conserve Cash, Enable Platform Development

Rare Daily Staff

NexImmune is cutting its workforce by 53 percent in order to reduce its cash expenditures while continuing to pursue its existing strategic plan.

The NexImmune board approved the layoffs and management is implementing the workforce reduction from 47 to 22 full time employees, designed to reduce costs and extend the company’s cash.

“We continue to make significant progress in generating important, validating preclinical data for our off-the-shelf multi-antigen-specific T cell-directing products,” said Kristi Jones, NexImmune’s CEO. “The workforce reduction protects our core capabilities to advance novel therapeutic candidates and our multiplex validation of functional antigen-specific T cell responses while giving us additional flexibility to manage our business.”

NexImmune is developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to orchestrate a targeted immune response by directing the function of antigen-specific T cells in oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases.

The backbone of NexImmune’s approach is a proprietary Artificial Immune Modulation (AIM) nanoparticle technology platform. The AIM technology enables NexImmune to construct nanoparticles that function as synthetic dendritic cells capable of directing a specific T cell-mediated immune response. AIM constructed nanoparticles employ natural biology to engage, activate and expand endogenous T cells in ways that combine anti-tumor attributes of antigen-specific precision, potency, and long-term persistence with reduced potential for off-target toxicities.

“The ability of our nanoparticles to direct T cell function has been validated in preclinical studies, not only by NexImmune, but also by our collaborators at leading institutions and other outside experts,” said Jones.  “This validation underscores the significance of our technology and its potential to unlock new possibilities in the field of immuno-oncology and other disease areas.”

In connection with the workforce reduction, John Trainer, the company’s chief financial officer, will depart effective as of September 2, 2023. Trainer will transition to providing consulting and advisory services to nexImmune pursuant to a consulting agreement.

Photo: Kristi Jones, NexImmune’s CEO