Sonata Therapeutics, a startup created two years ago through the merger of two Flagship Pioneering companies, has laid off about a third of its staff.
The biotech laid off 21 employees in recent weeks, according to employee posts on social media and a company spokesperson. Sonata had around 63 employees before the layoffs.
Sonata is just the latest in a series of startups laying off employees in order to stretch out their cash runways. Privately held startups have had a difficult time raising money during the recent biotech downturn, which has shown signs of abating in the last few months. But at this point, startups are still finding that private investors and venture capitalists are being cautious with their money as they wait to see if the downturn is truly over.
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