Korro Bio is laying off a fifth of its workforce as the Novo Nordisk-partnered biotech funnels resources to its clinical-stage candidate for a genetic lung and liver disease.
The asset, dubbed KRRO-110, is currently undergoing a phase 1/2a trial in Australia and New Zealand for Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), with an interim readout pencilled in for the second half of the year.
KRRO-110 is an RNA editing oligonucleotide encapsulated in a lipid nanoparticle that is delivered to liver cells and designed to correct the AAT protein.
As well as plans to expand the KRRO-110 study into the U.S., Korro also has a so-called “3-2-1” strategy with the aim of having three candidates in the clinic by the end of 2027 that have been developed with the company’s Oligonucleotide Promoted Editing of RNA (OPERA) platform.
Korro also has two OPERA-designed preclinical programs in the works via its ongoing collaboration with Novo Nordisk. The Danish pharma penned a $530 million biobucks pact with Korro in September last year aimed at two cardiometabolic-related targets.
Hitting these targets requires the company to “streamline operations,” including laying off around 20% of staff, Korro explained in its first-quarter earnings results. The company entered 2025 with 104 full-time employees, and the layoffs are expected to cost around $1.2 million in severance fees and related costs.
“Streamlining the organization is essential to enable Korro’s long-term success,” the biotech’s Chief Operating Officer, Todd Chappell, said in the May 7 release. “We will continue to prioritize the development of KRRO-110 while making focused investments in our OPERA platform to efficiently advance innovation. The reduction in our workforce was not an easy decision, and we are committed to supporting our current and former employees during this transition.”
Korro ended March with $139 million on hand, which the biotech expects to last until 2027.
In a May 8 note, William Blair analysts suggested that an upcoming readout from Wave Life Sciences’ own AATD RNA med WVE-006 “will have read-through to Korro and peers in the RNA editing space.”
“Korro continues to execute against timelines for getting lead asset KRRO-110 prepared for key proof-of-concept data that could validate the company’s broader OPERA platform in the ADAR-mediated RNA-editing space,” the analysts added.
“We believe Korro possesses potential best-in-class preclinical data for boosting corrected AAT levels in AATD, and that the RNA editing approach can provide a transient and dose-titratable option in the genetic medicine space that may avoid the potential risk of permanent off-target DNA editing,” the analysts added.