Biomea Fusion Pivots to Metabolic Focus, Cuts Staff and Drops Leukemia Asset

Biomea Fusion, a Bay Area biotech company, has announced a significant strategic realignment, shifting its focus to metabolic diseases while discontinuing its oncology efforts. The move, revealed in a May 5, 2025 release, includes a substantial workforce reduction and the termination of a phase 1 leukemia candidate.

Strategic Shift and Cost-Cutting Measures

Biomea Fusion is implementing a series of changes aimed at extending its financial runway into the fourth quarter of 2025. Key aspects of this realignment include:

• A 35% reduction in workforce
• Discontinuation of BMF-500, an oral FLT3 inhibitor for leukemia
• Consolidation of remaining staff at the Biomea Innovation Lab Center in San Carlos, California
• Increased focus on diabetes and obesity assets

The company plans to complete the workforce consolidation by May 31, 2025. The status of Biomea's headquarters in Redwood City remains unclear.

Focus on Metabolic Disease Portfolio

With the strategic pivot, Biomea is concentrating its efforts on two primary assets:

1. Icovamenib: A menin inhibitor designed to address underlying causes of diabetes, currently in phase 2 trials for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Recent results from the Type 2 diabetes trial showed promising efficacy in reducing blood glucose levels, following a brief interruption due to an FDA clinical hold over liver toxicity concerns.

2. BMF-650: A preclinical GLP-1 receptor agonist undergoing investigational new drug (IND)-enabling tests. Biomea aims to initiate human studies for this compound in the second half of 2025.

Oncology Asset Divestment

As part of its strategic shift, Biomea is seeking a partnership for its discontinued leukemia asset, BMF-500. The oral FLT3 inhibitor, currently in a phase 1 dose escalation and expansion trial, will see a final planned data readout in the second quarter of 2025 before Biomea concludes its oncology efforts.

This strategic realignment, first hinted at during the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January, positions icovamenib and BMF-650 as the cornerstones of Biomea's new metabolic disease focus. The company's decisive action reflects the challenging landscape of the pharmaceutical industry and the need for biotechs to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and clinical outcomes.