EyePoint plans to cut about 53% of workforce after eye treatment trial fails
Key Facts
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals announced that its board had approved a plan to cut about 53% of its workforce after the LUCIA trial of an experimental eye treatment failed to meet its primary endpoint. The company said in its reprioritization statement that the measures aim to reduce expenses and preserve capital. The plan includes ending pivotal Phase 3 trials for wet age-related macular degeneration early. EyePoint expects the reprioritization and related operational adjustments to generate annual savings of about $30 million. It estimated termination benefit costs, including severance and related expenses, at about $9 million.
The decision followed DURAVYU's failure in the LUCIA trial to demonstrate statistical non-inferiority to aflibercept, according to the company's statement on the topline results. The comparison measured improvement in best-corrected visual acuity, and the treatment improved vision but did not meet the trial's primary endpoint. LUCIA enrolled 475 patients in the clinical program for wet age-related macular degeneration. Among the trial's secondary results, the company reported a 38% reduction in treatment burden compared with aflibercept. Chief Executive Jay Duker said: "We are disappointed that the LUCIA trial did not meet its primary endpoint, given the promising scientific rationale for DURAVYU."
That followed the LUGANO trial's failure to meet its primary endpoint in an analysis of the full dataset, according to EyePoint's statement on its results. LUGANO enrolled 432 patients in the program to treat the same disease. DURAVYU remains an investigational treatment, according to the company's description of the product in its announcement of that trial's results. The drug has not received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Its delivery technology was designed to release the drug continuously for at least 6 months after administration, according to the company's statement on its diabetic macular edema program.
On the financial front, EyePoint estimated cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at about $118 million as of September 30, 2026, according to its reprioritization statement. It had reported in its annual results that cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities totaled $306 million at the end of 2025, compared with $371 million at the end of 2024. In the market, Investing reported an 81.6% drop in the shares to $0.551 in premarket trading on the day the LUCIA results were announced. The website had reported on August 18, 2026, that RBC Capital downgraded the stock following LUGANO's failure from "Outperform" to "Sector Perform." The firm also cut its price target for the shares from $37.00 to $5.00.
Under the reprioritization, EyePoint is focusing its resources on developing DURAVYU for diabetic macular edema. The condition occurs when fluid leaks from damaged blood vessels into the macula in the retina, according to the company's description of the disease. The resulting swelling can cause severe vision impairment. The drug's therapeutic rationale, according to the company, is to inhibit vascular permeability associated with vascular endothelial growth factor. The proposed mechanism also includes inhibiting the platelet-derived growth factor pathway and inflammation associated with interleukin 6.
The company expects to implement the vast majority of the workforce reductions during the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the schedule in its restructuring statement. The cuts are expected to be completed during the first half of 2027. In the remaining program, the primary endpoint of the COMO and CAPRI trials for diabetic macular edema measures non-inferiority in the change in best-corrected visual acuity. That measurement is based on combining results from weeks 52 and 56 after the start of the trial, according to the company. EyePoint expects to announce topline results from the trials during the fourth quarter of 2027.