Two Mass. biotech companies plan to cut about half their workers

Two Massachusetts biotech companies announced plans last week to cut roughly half their workforces as they narrow their focuses to experimental treatments for weight management and diabetes-related vision loss.

Burlington-based Fractyl Health announced a 45% workforce reduction, which would eliminate about 45 jobs if its staffing remains at the level reported earlier this year, while Watertown-based EyePoint plans to lay off 105 workers, according to a notice filed with the state.

The cuts come as Massachusetts’ biotech industry faces an uneven recovery. A recent report from the industry group MassBio found that investment rebounded in the first half of 2026, but employment fell by about 3,600 jobs in 2025. It was the first annual decline in more than two decades of tracking.

Fractyl plans to stop developing its Rejuva gene-therapy program for type 2 diabetes and focus on Revita, an experimental procedure intended to help people maintain weight loss after stopping GLP-1 drugs. The company plans to apply for FDA permission to market Revita near the end of 2026. 

Fractyl reported 100 full-time employees as of March 1, 2026, in its 2025 annual report. The company expects to complete most of the latest cuts by November. It previously cut 22 jobs in January 2025.

“While these decisions are difficult, particularly those impacting our colleagues, we believe this focused strategy will position Fractyl to operate more efficiently,” Harith Rajagopalan, co-founder and CEO of Fractyl, said in a statement. 

EyePoint announced its cuts after its experimental treatment, DURAVYU, failed to meet the main goal of a major study involving patients with wet age-related macular degeneration. This condition can cause vision loss.

The company will end its late-stage studies for that condition early and instead focus on testing DURAVYU for diabetic macular edema, which occurs when blood vessels damaged by diabetes leak fluid into the eye, causing swelling.

The treatment is designed to release medication into the eye for at least 6 months, potentially reducing how often patients need injections. It has not received FDA approval.

EyePoint expects results from two major studies of the diabetes-related condition in late 2027. The company said its restructuring would save about $30 million a year.

According to its notice to the state, EyePoint will lay off 105 employees between the end of this year and early next year. The company has its headquarters in Watertown and a manufacturing facility in Northbridge.

Fractyl Health did not respond to a request for additional comment.