Newton Biotech Firm Cuts 60 Percent Of Its Staff

NEWTON, MA — A Newton biotech announced it laid off 60 percent of its staff and the firm's chief scientific officer left the company and a top scientist will leave at the end of this year, after a late-stage drug trial failure, the Boston Business Journal first reported.

The startup - which is based in Newton, but files from the Cayman Islands - cut 42 positions this week, according to its SEC filing.

Stealth BioTherapeutics was in one of the final clinical trials for a drug for muscle weakness, but it failed to meet goals, the company announced last month.

It is now switching to focus on a potential treatment for the Barth syndrome (rare neuromuscular disorder), macular degeneration, and a potential therapy for ALS.

Stealth started in 2007 to treat rare diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction.

• Read the full Boston Business Journal article:In wake of drug trial fail, Newton-based Stealth ...