Seattle-based Sana Biotechnology Inc. (Nasdaq: SANA) is losing its research and development lead.
In a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sana said Douglas Williams, the company's president of research and development, has resigned for personal reasons.
Williams was previously the president and CEO of Codiak BioSciences, according to his LinkedIn page, as well as CEO of ZymoGenetics. Previous stops include Biogen, Seagen and Amgen.
Sana, which launched in 2019, is focused on repairing and controlling genes in cells. Its treatments are aimed at cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and central nervous system diseases.
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In February, Sana raised about $165 million, before underwriting discounts, commissions and other expenses, through an underwritten public offering. In the fourth quarter of last year, Sana laid off about 29% of its workforce, or almost 130 workers. When the company announced those layoffs, CEO Steve Harr said in a news release the company would increase its focus on oncology, autoimmune diseases and Type 1 diabetes.
In July, Sana broke ground on an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Bothell that is expected to open in 2025. The facility is replacing Sana's plans for a larger space in Fremont, California, and the company expects the move to save it more than $100 million over three years.
Sana also has operations in South San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sana in November of 2022 said it would lay off about 15% of its workforce. At the time, Sana also stopped further investment in the company's program aimed at heart failure.
