San Diego CDMO TriLink BioTechnologies is reducing its headcount while its parent company, Maravai LifeSciences, moves forward with a broader restructuring plan.
TriLink is letting go of 69 employees at its San Diego corporate headquarters and five at its analytical sciences center in the city, according to a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing in California.
Another 16 employees will be laid off between the company’s two neighboring manufacturing sites, one of which houses TriLink’s nucleic acid production, while the other specializes in mRNA manufacturing.
The 90 total TriLink job cuts are slated to go into effect by Oct. 6, according to the WARN report. The CDMO did not respond to Fierce Pharma’s request for comment on the matter.
The move comes as TriLink's parent Maravai has unveiled an expansive cost-cutting drive. After reporting declining second-quarter revenues of $47.4 million with a net loss of $69.8 million, the company is looking to save $50 million annually with a new "corporate realignment plan."
Maravai’s workforce reduction will impact about 25% of its total employee headcount, according to a recent SEC filing. Along with TriLink, Maravai oversees Cygnus Technologies, Glen Research and Alphazyme, boasting a global headcount of over 570 full-time employees in total.
“Some of these actions impact valued colleagues, and we are approaching the process with care and respect, with a focus on minimizing disruption to our customers and putting Maravai on a path to return to profitability," newly appointed CEO Bernd Brust said in an earnings press release, noting that “our existing cost structure is built for a larger company than we are today.”
While TriLink recently expanded its late-stage mRNA manufacturing capabilities with a new dedicated production site, Maravai reported that nucleic acid production revenues sank more than 43% over the quarter.
The sales dip was attributed to a lack of high-volume orders of CleanCap, an mRNA manufacturing component that has been used in Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty. TriLink has also licensed the technology out to Lonza and Quantoom Biosciences, among others.
TriLink previously received funding from the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to help with its mRNA capabilities and expand production capacity. The government agreed to fund up to $39 million of facility construction and validation under a cost-sharing arrangement that runs through 2035, according to a Maravai filing (PDF).
More recently, the HHS has changed its tune on mRNA. Earlier this month, the health agency announced the start of a “coordinated wind-down” of BARDA’s mRNA development activities, including the cancellation of various contracts.
“BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said at the time.