Biotech Downturn Hits another Startup as Pact Pharma to Lay Off Nearly 100 Employees

The cancer drugmaker, which was formed in early 2017 by a group that includes Nobel Prize winner David Baltimore, is one of dozens of biotechs to cut staff this year. Founded in 2018, PACT had raised $75 million in early 2020 to develop its cancer drugs and fund a manufacturing expansion. PACT, which has partnered with Lyell Immunopharma, a cell therapy developer that raised $435 million in an IPO last year, has stayed private. PACT stands for Personalized Adoptive Cell Therapy, the company’s research focus.