Personalis cuts 20% of workforce, reducing operating expense by $14M per anum

Personalis disclosed a reduction in headcount impacting approximately 20% of the company’s staff. By consolidating several functions for efficiency, this reduction is expected to reduce operating expenses by approximately $14M annually. This action, along with the recently announced Tempus collaboration, is expected to extend the cash position of the company into 2026. “Continuing to optimize our resources, as well as building new relationships, have been goals for us this year as we position Personalis to be a clinical testing leader,” stated Chris Hall, President and CEO of Personalis. “The headcount reductions along with the ~$30M we anticipate receiving over time from the Tempus relationship should extend our cash well into 2026 and provide runway for us to achieve Medicare reimbursement for NeXT Personal Dx.” The company entered into a strategic collaboration with Tempus last week designed to significantly accelerate commercialization of the company’s NeXT Personal Dx ultra-sensitive MRD test in a cost-effective manner. To align incentives, the company provided warrants to Tempus to purchase approximately 9.2M shares of the company’s common stock at an average price of $2/share. Assuming those warrants are cash exercised, and all milestones are met, the relationship will provide approximately $30 M o the company exclusive of any payments to Tempus for the fair market value of sales, marketing, and sample logistics services. “We have been successfully executing our 2023 goals in support of our ‘Win-in-MRD’ strategy that we laid out earlier this year and are targeting even more aggressive goals in 2024,” added Hall. “Next year, we plan to develop clinical evidence across ~10 clinical studies, progress toward our long-term goal of achieving 60%-plus gross margins, submit for Medicare reimbursement for NeXT Personal Dx, and drive early commercial success for NeXT Personal Dx with Tempus.”