BioAtla Restructures, Prioritizes Pipeline Amid Layoffs and Partnership Hunt

BioAtla, a San Diego-based biotech company, has announced a significant restructuring of its business, including a 30% reduction in its workforce, as it seeks to extend its cash runway and focus on key development programs. The company is also actively pursuing partnerships for some of its conditionally active biologic (CAB) antibodies while advancing its prioritized internal pipeline.

Pipeline Prioritization and Clinical Progress

BioAtla is concentrating its efforts on mecbotamab vedotin, an anti-AXL antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) currently in phase 2 trials. Recent data presented at the European Lung Cancer Congress showed promising anti-tumor activity in a small group of 17 patients with mKRAS mutation-expressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The company is considering a "pan-MKRAS" strategy for developing the ADC in NSCLC, with a phase 2 readout expected in the first half of 2026.

Another prioritized candidate is BA3182, a CAB-EpCAM x CAB-CD3 T-cell engager in phase 1 dose escalation studies for unresectable or metastatic adenocarcinoma. Results from this study are anticipated in the coming months, with a phase 2 expansion cohort expected to yield data in the first half of 2026.

Partnership Opportunities and Asset Divestment

BioAtla is seeking partners for two mid-stage development candidates. Ozuriftamab vedotin, a CAB-ROR2 ADC, is currently in phase 2 trials for HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The company reports a 45% overall response rate from the trial thus far, highlighting the potential in a population "poorly served" by EGFR inhibitors.

Additionally, evalstotug, an anti–CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody in phase 1 and 2 studies for various tumor types, is also being positioned for potential partnership. BioAtla has already initiated discussions with interested parties for both assets.

Financial Outlook and Restructuring

The restructuring efforts aim to reduce costs and extend BioAtla's cash runway into 2026. The company ended 2024 with $49 million in cash, down from $111.5 million at the beginning of the year. The workforce reduction is expected to primarily affect non-essential roles, preserving positions crucial for "supporting value creation, advancing prioritized internal programs, and partnering clinical assets," according to the company's statement.

CEO Jay Short, Ph.D., expressed optimism about the company's direction, stating, "We are encouraged by the differentiated clinical outcomes observed in our evolving CAB platform program datasets. As a result, we continue to advance multiple discussions with potential collaborators on our phase 2 assets, as well as initiate new ones."