Sanofi has scrapped its collaboration with IGM Biosciences, eliminating the biotech’s last program in the process. IGM responded by laying off 80% of its staff and closing most of its lab and office facilities.
California-based IGM pocketed $150 million from Sanofi in 2022 as part of a six-target deal worth more than $6 billion in biobucks milestones. The biotech’s situation has taken a nosedive since then. IGM laid off 22% of its staff in December 2023, underwent a further restructuring in September 2024 and began 2025 by axing its last two internal drug candidates and reducing its head count by 73%.
After the 2025 restructuring, IGM’s pipeline was reduced to the three remaining programs covered by its deal with Sanofi. The French drugmaker brought the curtain down on those programs by sending IGM a termination notice earlier this week.
IGM disclosed the news after the markets closed Thursday, telling investors that it and Sanofi concluded “conducting further activities under the agreement was not in the interests of either party.” The partners teamed up in 2022 to develop IgM antibodies, which have more binding units than the widely used IgG antibodies. The project was split evenly between oncology and immunology and inflammation targets.
IGM ended last year with 149 full-time employees. The biotech subsequently laid off 73% of its workers. With the latest cuts affecting 80% of the remaining staff, the figures suggest IGM is down to a skeleton crew. IGM said it is continuing to “evaluate potential strategic alternatives and reorganization options.”
The biotech had $183.8 million to its name at the end of December and is Nasdaq listed. Beyond that, it is unclear what the company has to offer a potential buyer. The pipeline page of IGM’s website, having been reduced to just the Sanofi programs in January, now says “it looks like nothing was found at this location.”
IGM has a market cap of around $67 million. Tang Capital Management and Alis Biosciences have begun to target biotechs that are trading below cash. The investors offer management teams a way to return cash to shareholders without facing the near-term challenges and ongoing responsibilities of liquidation.