Oryon Cell Therapies appoints Kenny Choi, Ph.D. as Chief Technical Officer. Leader in cell and gene therapy technical operations brings more than fifteen years of manufacturing and development experience Contributed directly to more than a dozen INDs and three BLAs for autologous cell therapies Oryon Cell Therapies ("Oryon"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing autologous neuron replacement medicines for Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the appointment of Kenny Choi, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Officer (CTO). Dr. Choi will lead Oryon's technical operations and Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) strategy, including transfer of the manufacturing process for the company's autologous iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuron therapy from Mass General Brigham (MGB) to Oryon's own manufacturing facilities, and building the capabilities required for late-stage clinical development and commercial launch. Dr. Choi has more than fifteen years of experience in technical operations, process development and CMC strategy for cell therapies. He has built and scaled technical organizations from early development through commercial readiness and has directly contributed to more than a dozen cell and gene therapy INDs and three Biologics License Applications (BLAs) for autologous cell therapies. "Kenny joins Oryon at a pivotal point in the development of our autologous neuron replacement therapy," said Ron Cohen, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oryon. "We are moving from an academic manufacturing environment to manufacturing at the scale needed for later-stage clinical development and commercialization. Kenny's hands-on and leadership experience in cell process and analytical development, facility build-out, regulatory submissions and commercial readiness make him exceptionally well suited to lead this effort." Dr. Choi joins Oryon from Arcellx, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead, where he served as Vice President, CMC, leading process development, CMC program management and external manufacturing sciences. He previously held technical leadership roles at Instil Bio, Mustang Bio and Kite Pharma, a Gilead company, spanning process and analytical development, automation, technology transfer, facility build-out and CDMO partnership management across sites in the United States and Europe. He began his career in cell therapy at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. "I was drawn to Oryon by the rigor of the science, the clinical data, and the opportunity to help move Parkinson's treatment beyond symptom management," said Dr. Choi. "I look forward to working with the Oryon team to build a manufacturing platform that will advance this therapy through clinical development, and deliver it to all patients who can benefit." Dr. Choi holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington and a doctorate in Systems Engineering from George Washington University. Oryon's lead program currently is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial assessing autologous dopaminergic neuron replacement therapy in people with Parkinson's disease. Interim data presented at the AD/PD(TM) 2026 International Conference in Copenhagen showed sustained motor improvements in all treated participants. About Oryon Cell Therapies Oryon Cell Therapies is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing autologous cell therapies for neurodegenerative disorders, with an initial focus on Parkinson's disease. The company's technology is designed to restore synaptic function and motor control by replacing neurons lost to the disease, with the goal of achieving functional restoration. Visit oryoncelltherapies.com for more information. Media Contact Nikola Kojic, M.D., Ph.D. Oryon Cell Therapies, Inc. [email protected] Posted In:

7 biopharma M&A deals where layoffs followed. August 20, 2026 | Workforce cuts this year at seven companies involved in recent mergers and acquisitions will cost over 1,300 employees their jobs. Affected businesses include Arcellx and Tourmaline Bio, acquired by Gilead Sciences and Novartis, respectively. So far in 2026, layoffs have hit at least seven biopharmas involved in a recent merger or acquisition. Those companies' cuts will collectively wipe out a minimum of 1,359 employees' jobs, according to BioSpace tallies. The largest workforce reduction is at CureVac - acquired by BioNTech - where 820 people will need to find other positions by the end of next year. Below, BioSpace looks at the seven M&A deals where layoffs followed in 2026, sometimes just days or weeks after the transactions closed. 1. Gilead Sciences and Arcellx. Once Gilead Sciences closed its $7.8 billion acquisition of Arcellx, it didn't take the pharma long to disclose it was slashing the biotech's workforce. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices in California and Maryland were dated April 30, just two days after Gilead announced it had completed the deal. The pharma is laying off 192 Arcellx employees, likely wiping out 87% of the biotech's workforce, according to a BioSpace estimate based on a March 1 employee count. Most affected staff worked at Arcellx's headquarters in Redwood City, California, where 108 people were let go effective June 30. In Rockville, Maryland, 84 employees are being laid off between June 30, 2026, and April 30, 2027. The centerpiece of the takeover is anito-cel, a CAR T therapy under development for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. An FDA decision on the therapy is expected by December 2026. February 23, 2026 2. BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Amicus Therapeutics. In early May, two weeks after BioMarin Pharmaceutical announced completion of its $4.8 billion acquisition of Amicus Therapeutics, Amicus disclosed it will lay off 58 staffers from its Princeton, New Jersey, headquarters. The cuts could affect around 11% of the biotech's workforce, according to a BioSpace estimate based on an employee count as of Dec. 31, 2025. The layoffs are effective from Aug. 7 to Oct. 30, 2026, according to the WARN notice. A BioMarin spokesperson told Fierce Pharma the layoffs link to the acquisition, noting that "As with any integration of this scale, we are carefully evaluating how to align our organizations for long-term success. This process has resulted in headcount reductions, particularly in areas where there is overlap." BioMarin Pharmaceutical has faced a rocky road, promising and then backing off revenue targets and cutting assets that have underperformed. But Amicus' rare disease portfolio is already bringing in $600 million annually. December 19, 2025 3. Novartis and Tourmaline Bio. While Novartis completed its $1.4 billion acquisition of Tourmaline Bio in October 2025, Tourmaline did not disclose layoffs until four months later, in February. The company divulged in a WARN notice that it was letting go of 60 employees at its New York City headquarters, effective May 29. The cuts may have affected about 79% of the biotech's workforce, according to a BioSpace estimate based on an employee count as of Aug. 1, 2025. In addition to letting employees go, Tourmaline also closed its headquarters, according to the WARN notice. The alert stated "merger" as the reason behind the closure. Novartis has been investing heavily in its cardiovascular pipeline this year, forging partnerships with Flagship startup ProFound Therapeutics and China's Argo Biopharmaceutical, among others. September 9, 2025 4. BioNTech and CureVac. BioNTech completed its $1.25 billion acquisition of CureVac in December 2025 and divulged layoffs five months later. In early May, BioNTech disclosed in a quarterly report that it will let go of about 820 people at CureVac by the end of next year. The workforce reduction could affect 83% of the biotech's workforce, according to a BioSpace estimate based on an employee count as of Dec. 31, 2024, the most recent count filed with the SEC. In its quarterly report, BioNTech noted that it plans to exit operations at Germany-based CureVac's German and international sites, which host clinical and commercial-scale mRNA manufacturing capacities as well as research and development and enabling functions. BioNTech said in 2022 that it faced "threats of a groundless patent infringement suit" from a company that was "unable to bring to market any product to help in the fight against COVID-19." Now, the mRNA biotech is buying that very company. June 18, 2025 5. Biogen and Apellis Pharmaceuticals. In June, one month after closing its $5.6 billion acquisition of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Biogen told BioSpace it is cutting a "small number" of roles within its research arm related to discontinued Apellis programs. The company did not specify how many of the biotech's employees are affected. Apellis had 739 employees as of Dec. 31, 2025. Biogen had conducted a comprehensive review of the biotech's clinical and preclinical portfolio and, as a result, decided to pause or terminate investment in most legacy preclinical programs, a Biogen spokesperson told BioSpace. In addition to delivering two approved medicines to Biogen's portfolio, the acquisition of Apellis Pharmaceuticals will support the future launch of the pharma's own kidney disease asset, currently in multiple Phase 3 trials. March 31, 2026 6. MindMaze Therapeutics and Relief Therapeutics. Earlier this month, eight months after completing a reverse merger with Relief Therapeutics, MindMaze Therapeutics announced it had finished an organizational simplification involving disposal of Switzerland-based Relief's legacy operations. MindMaze Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Meinen told BioSpace that "a handful" of Relief employees were let go and received notice periods of several months. Meinen explained that rather than close Relief's legacy operations in Switzerland, which employed around 25 people, MindMaze found acquirers for those businesses. New ownership retained "substantially all" Relief employees, with some remaining at MindMaze and others let go, he said. Meinen declined to specify the number laid off or name the acquiring businesses. 7. Sanofi and Blueprint Medicines. Sanofi and Blueprint Medicines had a long lag from deal closure to cuts. Earlier this month, 13 months after completing its $9.5 billion acquisition of Blueprint Medicines, Sanofi disclosed in a WARN notice that Blueprint is laying off about 229 employees in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the subsidiary is based. Effective from Oct. 9, 2026, to June 25, 2027, the cuts could affect around 33% of Blueprint's workforce, according to a BioSpace estimate based on an employee count as of April 15, 2025. In addition to the layoffs, the Cambridge facility will close Dec. 31, with "decommissioning work" happening through June 2027, according to the full WARN notice. As of Jan. 1, 2027, remaining Blueprint employees assigned to that location will start reporting to Sanofi's U.S. office in Cambridge at 450 Water St. Blueprint has a next-generation systemic mastocytosis treatment, called elenestinib, that Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson told analysts provides an "opportunity to grow through the '30s." June 2, 2025 More layoffs could be ahead. While it's unknown how many more layoffs will follow recent M&A deals, it's possible additional cuts are on the way given how transactions have ramped up in 2026. During H1, there were 52 mergers and acquisitions, up from 32 in H1 2025, according to BioSpace tallies. Deals have continued into the second half of 2026, with at least 10 announced through Aug. 18. The largest transaction BioSpace reported is Vertex Pharmaceuticals' $10 billion buyout of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. One deal already linked to likely workforce cuts is the Supernus Pharmaceuticals and Indivior Pharmaceuticals merger announced at the start of this month. That business combination, expected to produce $2.2 billion in combined revenue, will likely result in "natural redundancies" in general and administrative roles, Supernus CEO Jack Khattar said during a recent investor call. Rockville, Maryland-based Supernus had 778 employees and North Chesterfield, Virginia-based Indivior 838 as of Dec. 31, 2025. Supernus Pharmaceuticals and Indivior Pharmaceuticals are outlining a combined expected $2.2 billion in annual revenue, plus $125 million in cost savings that will include "natural redundancies." August 3, 2026 Layoff numbers exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms. To tally the cuts, BioSpace compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated through confirmation from company officials as well as information in company press releases, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices, SEC filings and other media outlets' reports. Not all companies disclose downsizing, and some share only the percentage of staff affected. Some biopharmas provide total numbers retrospectively rather than disclosing individual workforce reductions as they happen. Job market trends, layoffs and career advice to manage your life sciences career Angela Gabriel is content manager, life sciences careers, at BioSpace. She covers the biopharma job market, job trends and career advice, and produces client content. You can reach her at [email protected] and follow her on LinkedIn.