AbbVie (ABBV) is terminating a decade-long R&D collaboration with Calico Life Sciences, a company founded by Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) to focus on age-related conditions, according to a report from Stat News on Wednesday.
Citing internal emails sent on Tuesday, the publication reported that as part of the move, the Illinois-based pharma giant is laying off chemists working on discovering new drugs.
The decision comes as AbbVie (ABBV) shifts its focus away from small-molecule drugs, such as pills, and boosts its investments in injectables and complex generics.
The duo last extended the collaboration in 2021, pledging to work together in developing and commercializing new therapies for age-related diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration for another three years.
At the time, the startup, founded by Alphabet (GOOG) and Calico CEO Arthur Levinson, had over 200 staffers and yielded more than 20 early-stage programs, including three clinical programs as part of the 2014 collaboration.
AbbVie (ABBV) wasn’t immediately available for requests for comments.