Breaking: Lykos Lays Off 75% of Staff, Ropes In Pharma Veteran, Doblin Resigns Board

Following FDA’s rejection of Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD New Drug Application (NDA), the company has today announced a significant reorganisation. The overhaul sees around 75% of the company’s workforce laid off, with the remaining skeleton team focused on “ongoing clinical development, medical affairs, and engagement with the FDA.”

As the company prepared for a potential approval, it had—like many companies at that stage of development—began building out its commercialisation team. Now that the company is back in the clinical development realm, however, its staff has been thinned out substantially.

“As we prepare to address the FDA decision, we need to focus on delivering the FDA the robust clinical data necessary to support the approval of this potential new treatment”, Lykos CEO Amy Emerson said.

Lykos staff members affected by the layoffs told Psychedelic Alpha that they’re not exactly surprised, given the nature of the FDA’s decision and the uncertain path forward. Given that the company has burned through a large portion of the cash it’s raised from investors, the cuts are also a financial necessity.

This significantly scaled-back team will be led by David Hough, who has been brought in to oversee the clinical development program and FDA engagement related to the planned resubmission of the MDMA NDA...