By Colin Kellaher


Xilio Therapeutics, which has struck a potentially lucrative licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, on Thursday said it is raising $11.3 million in a private-placement financing and cutting staff in a repositioning.

The Waltham, Mass., clinical-stage biotechnology company said it agreed to sell nearly 17.6 million shares and prefunded warrants to certain existing accredited investors, including Bain Capital Life Sciences and Rock Springs Capital, at 64 cents apiece, in line with Wednesday's closing price.

The new funds are in addition to the $13.5 million that Gilead is investing in Xilio as part of the licensing agreement. Xilio said Gilead is making its investment at $1.97 a share, more than triple Wednesday's closing price.

Xilio also said it plans to reprioritize its resources and portfolio, resulting in the elimination of 15 jobs, or 21% of its staff.

The company said it will now focus on rapidly advancing clinical development for its XTX301 and XTX101 programs while ending further investment in XTX202 as a monotherapy.

Xilio said it expects the private placement and the Gilead investment, along with its repositioning, will extend its cash runway into the second quarter of 2025.

Trading in shares of Xilio was halted premarket on Thursday.


Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-28-24 0747ET