BioXcel Therapeutics to cut workforce 58%, stock falls 27%

Shares of BioXcel Therapeutics
BTAI,
-46.08%
tumbled 27% premarket on Monday as the biopharma company said it would cut its workforce by about 58%. BioXcel, which uses artificial intelligence to develop medicines, also said it is looking to reduce more than 50% of its cash burn, to about $80 million annually going forward. The moves are part of a “strategic reprioritization” that will focus on market opportunities for BioXcel’s commercial product, Igalmi, in bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease, the company said in a release. BioXcel reported a second quarter net loss of $53.5 million, or $1.83 per share, compared with a loss of $37.7 million, or $1.35 per share, in the year earlier period. BioXcel shares are down 65% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.12%
has gained 16%.