Vaxart was gearing up for a 10,400-participant COVID-19 pill trial
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services is already leading to layoffs in the Bay Area’s biotech industry.
Vaxart, a small South San Francisco company that focuses on oral vaccine research, announced Thursday that it had to lay off 10% of its workers after the U.S. government issued a stop work order on its major COVID-19 vaccine trial. Vaxart had 105 workers at the end of 2024, per a filing, so the cuts are likely to hit around 10 staff members; local biotechs have been shedding staff left and right this year.
The stop work order is a major blow for a company that had already seen its stock price dwindle. Vaxart got a positive reception to the vaccine study’s initial data from a safety board, and was planning to begin a larger trial after the FDA provided input. Instead, the study and company have been thrown into limbo — Vaxart will learn within 90 days whether the trial and its massive contract are canceled for good.