Molecular Partners plans to lay off up to 44% of its staff as it redirects its remaining capital toward a radiotherapeutic pipeline led by MP0712, an early-phase small cell lung cancer candidate. The reduction could affect up to 55 positions, and the company is consulting with employees as required under Swiss law.
The restructuring is part of a broader narrowing of strategy. Molecular Partners ended September with 57.5 million Swiss francs ($69 million) and said that cash should fund operations into late 2027. It expects to fully implement the workforce changes by the second quarter of 2027, with the full effect of lower costs showing up in the second half of that year. The biotech has not yet estimated the financial impact of the restructuring and said it aims to provide that estimate early next year.
Pipeline Focus
The company is prioritizing a phase 1/2a study of MP0712 and advancing its wider pipeline of Radio-DARPin therapeutics. DARPins are small proteins designed to deliver radioactive payloads to cancer cells, a role the source compares with tumor-specific ligands used in radiopharmaceuticals such as Novartis’ Pluvicto. Molecular Partners said it has fully recruited the second dose level of the MP0712 study and expects initial safety data in December, with efficacy results to follow in 2027.
Beyond MP0712, the company said MP0726 is advancing to first-in-human imaging in the second half of the year. It has also nominated MP0730, which targets CD70, as the third candidate in the radiopharmaceutical pipeline, with a potential first-in-human study in mid-2027.
Strategic Shift
The sharper focus marks a notable change from one year ago, when Molecular Partners was developing the DLL3-directed radiopharmaceutical alongside the multispecific T-cell engager MP0533 and the bispecific MP0317. Now, the company says it will explore DARPins as immune cell engagers through strategic partnerships and platform-derived spinout opportunities. The signal is straightforward: rather than financing multiple modalities internally, Molecular Partners is concentrating its balance sheet on radiopharmaceuticals and pushing other DARPin applications outside the core operating plan.
