NEW YORK – Oncocyte said Wednesday that it has reduced its workforce by approximately 20 percent, which the firm's management said should extend its cash runway in 2024.
"Those impacted have always put patients first in everything they do. We are grateful for their dedication and service to the clinical community," CEO Joshua Riggs said in a statement.
The layoffs are the latest in a string of bleak news for the company. Last December, Oncocyte laid off more than 40 percent of its workforce and announced plans to sell its DetermaRx lung cancer test as part of a larger company reorganization. This included letting go of both its chief operating officer and chief scientific officer. Former President and CEO Ronnie Andrews, CFO Mitch Levine, and Chief Commercial Officer Padma Sundar had also all recently resigned.
In February, Oncocyte had to pull its common stock from the Nasdaq Global Market and transfer its listing to the Nasdaq Capital Market to gain additional time to regain compliance after Nasdaq determined that the company no longer met its minimum bid price. And earlier this month, the firm reported preliminary fourth quarter 2022 revenues were down 69 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
According to Riggs, Oncocyte's strategy moving forward is based on reducing cash burn as it shifts from a service lab model to a product-driven revenue model featuring disseminated test kits.
In a form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, the firm disclosed that the sale of a 70 percent stake in its DetermaRx, which closed in February, had involved no monetary consideration. However, the transaction did allow the company to eliminate all development and commercialization costs with respect to the test.