Barinthus Biotherapeutics to prioritize VTP-300, reduce workforce by 25%

Barinthus Biotherapeutics announced plans to prioritize its pipeline to focus on the development of VTP-300 in CHB and VTP-1000 in celiac disease. The decision follows the interim data from the two ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver, or EASL, Congress on June 6. The data from the ongoing HBV003 and IM-PROVE II trials demonstrated VTP-300’s potential to significantly reduce and maintain Hepatitis B surface antigen levels and achieve undetectable HBsAg levels in patients with CHB. Additionally, the strategic focus on Barinthus Bio’s proprietary SNAP-TI platform and lead candidate VTP-1000 in celiac disease, follows encouraging pre-clinical data demonstrating mode of action and disease amelioration being observed in a number of disease models. Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting approximately 1% of people in Western countries that currently has no FDA or EMA approved treatments.1 VTP-1000 aims to balance the immune response by inducing gluten-specific T regulatory cells and reducing gluten-specific T effector cell responses. Initiation of the Phase 1 clinical trial is expected in the third quarter of 2024. The development of VTP-300 in CHB and VTP-1000 in celiac disease will be prioritized and the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of VTP-850 in prostate cancer will be completed. The Company expects to undergo a restructuring to align resources with the streamlined pipeline, which will include a workforce reduction of approximately 25% and an estimated extension of the cash runway into the second quarter of 2026.