AC Immune is reducing its workforce by about 30% and streamlining its pipeline in an effort to extend its cash runway through the third quarter of 2027. The Swiss biotech announced that the changes will include both staff reductions and a sharper focus on selected drug candidates.
Previously, AC Immune projected that its cash balance would last until the first quarter of 2027. By adjusting its strategy, the company now expects its 127.1 million Swiss francs ($157.8 million) in cash and equivalents, reported at the end of June, to sustain operations six months longer. This figure excludes potential business development milestone payments.
The internal pipeline has been narrowed to focus on ACI-7104.056, a Phase 2 Parkinson’s disease program, along with two preclinical programs targeting NLRP3 and alpha-synuclein. Antibodies against ASC and TDP-43, as well as a morphomer-antibody drug conjugate (morADC), have been removed from development. Last year, CEO Andrea Pfeifer, Ph.D., had described morADCs as potentially becoming the company’s “prime focus.”
Partnered programs now account for half of AC Immune’s pipeline. The company is collaborating with Takeda on the anti-amyloid-beta active immunotherapy ACI-24.060, which is in Phase Ib/II development for Alzheimer’s disease. Interim data are expected in the first half of 2026. AC Immune also continues work with Johnson & Johnson on an active immunotherapy against tau, ACI-35.030, which is in Phase 2 development, and with Eli Lilly on an intracellular-targeted tau program currently in preclinical stages.
The restructuring includes layoffs that will affect an estimated 52 employees. AC Immune ended 2024 with 172 employees, and its most recent corporate presentation listed around 170. The company has started the consultation process required under Swiss employment law and expects the reductions to be fully implemented by year-end.
AC Immune emphasized that its strategic adjustments will allow continued investment in what it described as its “most important assets.” These include its three clinical-stage programs and selected small-molecule assets targeting tau proteins and the NLRP3 inflammasome.
Among its wholly owned assets, the most advanced is ACI-7104.056, designed to elicit antibodies against pathological oligomeric alpha-synuclein, a protein linked to neurodegenerative conditions. Interim data from this Phase 2 Parkinson’s disease trial are expected before the end of 2025.
In its most recent financial update, AC Immune reported a net loss of 21.2 million Swiss francs ($26.3 million) for the second quarter of 2025. The company’s revised strategy aims to ensure its resources cover the release of key upcoming clinical results, including the Parkinson’s disease data expected this year and the Takeda-partnered Alzheimer’s disease data in 2026.
While the staff reductions and pipeline narrowing underscore AC Immune’s urgency to preserve cash, the strategy also concentrates its bets. The focus on Immune-based therapeutics, particularly active immunotherapies, aligns with broader trends in neurodegenerative disease research where immunomodulation is seen as an attractive route to counter protein misfolding and aggregation.
However, the concentrated portfolio carries inherent risk: if ACI-7104.056 or its preclinical Immune-related programs do not deliver strong data, the remaining pipeline may lack depth. The reliance on partner programs (Takeda, J&J, Lilly) also means milestones and external decisions will play a central role in sustaining development momentum.
On the opportunity side, positive interim results—especially for ACI-7104.056 in Parkinson’s disease or for ACI-24.060 in Alzheimer’s disease—could validate the Immune-centric approach and attract further collaboration or licensing interest. The extension of the cash runway to Q3 2027 offers a buffer through critical inflection points.
Looking ahead, should these Immune-based clinical readouts succeed, AC Immune may resume selective expansion—potentially reintroducing small-molecule or antibody candidates into development. But for now, the sharpened focus hints that AC Immune is choosing depth over breadth, centering its future on its Immune strategy.
