Octagon Therapeutics Winds Down Operations After Setbacks in Autoimmune Disease Programs

Octagon Therapeutics, a Rhode Island-based biotech company focused on developing treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, has announced its decision to wind down operations. The closure comes after the deprioritization of its lead B cell immunomodulator program and unresolved biological questions surrounding a high-potential pipeline effort.

Scientific "No-Go" Forces Difficult Decision

CEO and co-founder Isaac Stoner shared the news on LinkedIn, describing the situation as a "scientific no-go" despite the company's perfect execution. "Over the past 7 years, we have made fundamental discoveries, pioneered new methods, built a talented team, and assembled a supportive investor base and Board of Directors," Stoner stated. He added, "This decision is personally and professionally disappointing, and not the outcome that the patients we had hoped to serve deserved."

Impact on Employees and Pipeline

The closure is expected to affect approximately a dozen employees, based on the company's LinkedIn profile. Octagon's pipeline, which never reached the investigational new drug stage, included OCT50, its most advanced candidate. OCT50 was designed to treat conditions such as lupus and multiple sclerosis by restoring the endogenous role of Siglec-2, suppressing autoreactive B cells, and resetting healthy immune functioning.

From Antibiotics to Autoimmune Diseases

Octagon Therapeutics initially focused on developing antibiotics for multidrug-resistant infections, leveraging work from co-founder Fred Ausubel's lab at Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard University. The company later shifted its focus to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

In 2022, Octagon entered a multiyear research collaboration with Novo Nordisk, applying its functional target discovery approach and novel chemistry strategy to inflammatory diseases where Novo had specific expertise. Despite these efforts and $14 million in funding, the company was unable to overcome the scientific challenges it faced in its lead programs.