Turnstone faces TIL reality

Less than four months after Turnstone cut 60% of its staff to focus development on its lead phase 1 tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) project, TIDAL-01, the company has accepted the inevitable. TIDAL-01 is being discontinued, and an additional workforce reduction is being implemented, with only essential staff now being retained while Turnstone "reviews strategic alternatives", the group said on Tuesday. This marks a continuing loss of confidence in TIL therapies, a space in which Turnstone's pullback mirrors moves by Lyell, Achilles Therapeutics and Instil Bio. Achilles is being wound up after offloading what was left of its technology assets to AstraZeneca for $12m, but Instil has found favour with some investors after its pivot into VEGF x PD-L1 bispecifics with the licensing last year of ImmuneOnco's IMM2510. Turnstone might now be mulling a similar makeover, but it could struggle to find an attractive asset to license at an affordable price – at the end of last September it had $45m in cash, and is now capitalised at just $10m.