Hello, everyone, and how are you today? A cloudy cover greeted us this morning, but we are ignoring the gloom by keeping busy. After all, there is much to be done. There are deadlines to meet, a variety of reading material to digest, and calls to make. We trust you can relate. So please join us as we fortify ourselves with more cups of stimulation — we are back to blueberry mountain — and get started on the journey ahead. Hope you conquer the world today and accomplish much. And of course, be in touch. …
Bluebird Bio is reducing expenses and laying off nearly a third of its employees to preserve cash ahead of two pivotal gene-therapy approval decisions expected later this year, STAT notes. The restructuring, which aims to save $160 million over the next two years, comes one month after Bluebird warned investors there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain solvent beyond this year. The financial difficulties result from a prolonged pileup of clinical, business, and regulatory setbacks that have put at risk its ability to deliver potentially curative treatments to patients in the U.S. born with two rare diseases — the blood disorder beta-thalassemia and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy.