ADC Therapeutics announced on June 24 that it will lay off 17% of its workforce after reporting more than two dozen deaths among trial participants taking its blood cancer drug Zynlonta. The Swiss biopharmaceutical company said the move is expected to save $10 million per year.
The company, which employed 188 full-time and five part-time staff as of December 31, 2025, indicated that approximately 32 roles would be affected by the cuts. ADC Therapeutics expects to incur about $3 million in severance, benefits, and related termination expenses. The company stated that its cash runway should last into 2028.
According to ADC Therapeutics, the reorganization was prompted by the anticipated completion of two clinical trials for Zynlonta: LOTIS-5 Phase 3 and LOTIS-7 Phase 1b. Both studies are expected to conclude this year. Zynlonta received accelerated approval in 2021 for use in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma in third-line or later settings. The LOTIS-5 trial serves as a confirmatory study to support potential full approval or regulatory consideration for earlier use.
However, results from the trial testing Zynlonta plus rituximab showed no overall survival benefit. There were also 27 patient deaths reported in the Zynlonta arm compared with nine deaths in the control group. Over the past month, ADC Therapeutics’ stock price has dropped by 66%, mainly following news of these patient deaths. Shares are currently priced at $1.14 each.
The company described these fatalities as treatment-emergent adverse events but did not clarify whether they were definitively linked to Zynlonta therapy. It noted that a majority of those who died while receiving Zynlonta were aged 75 years or older.
“As we further assess the Phase 3 LOTIS-5 trial outcomes, including feedback from key medical experts, we continue to believe in the favorable overall benefit-risk profile and look forward to our pre-supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August,” CEO Ameet Mallik said Wednesday.
ADC Therapeutics plans to submit an application for expanded approval based on LOTIS-5 before year-end and expects to share data from LOTIS-7 later this year.
