Seattle-based biotech Neoleukin Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: NLTX) has named Donna Cochener as its interim CEO.
Neoleukin announced the move in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The decision comes roughly one month after Neoleukin said it was laying off about 70% of its workforce and that previous CEO Jonathan Drachman was stepping down.
When Neoleukin announced the layoffs in March, the company also said it was looking into "strategic alternatives" such as a sale, merger or divestiture of assets, among other options.
"Based on the anticipated time and investment necessary to further develop the technology and potential product candidates in this challenging capital markets environment, we believe that it is appropriate to pursue other strategic options,” board chairman Todd Simpson said in the March news release.
Cochener, previously Neoleukin's general counsel, joined the company in March 2022, before which she was senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank. Earlier, she was a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.
Neoleukin on Monday also announced Sean Smith as the interim chief financial officer. Smith joined the company in 2019 and has served as controller and vice president of finance. Before Neoleukin, he spent more than two years in accounting roles at Seattle-base biotech Aptevo.
Neoleukin, founded in 2018, spun out of the University of Washington in 2019. It went public that same year through a merger with Aquinox Pharmaceuticals. Neoleukin says on its website it is using "computational methods to create new therapies," but the company in November said it was discontinuing its lead candidate, NL-201, a protein therapeutic aimed at cancer immunotherapy.
The 70% headcount reduction adds to a roughly 40% headcount reduction Neoleukin announced in November. The company expects to complete the layoffs in the first half of this year. Neoleukin has 37 employees listed on LinkedIn.
The Monday filing notes Drachman stepped down at the end of March. He had been with the company since its founding. He spent 14 years at Bothell-based biotech Seagen before that.
