Tocagen soars as it restructures and slashes employees

Following the failure of a key brain cancer study last month, Tocagen (Nasdaq: TOCA), a clinical-stage, US cancer-selective gene therapy company, on Thursday announced a restructuring to focus its resources on the clinical development of Toca 511 and Toca FC, with the news sending its shares leaping 19.7% to $0.70.

Tocagen announced last month that the Toca 5 Phase III, randomized, multicenter clinical trial evaluating Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec) & Toca FC in patients with recurrent high grade glioma (HGG) undergoing resection missed the primary endpoint of overall survival compared to standard of care treatment (11.1 months median compared to 12.2 months, HR=1.06, p=0.6154).

Tocagen will reduce its workforce by approximately 65%, resulting in an estimated 30 remaining full-time employees by the end of the year. The company plans to provide financial guidance in the fourth quarter of 2019.