London-listed medtech firm Sensyne Health is set to fire two-thirds of its employees as difficulties for the company continue to pile up.
Newly appointed chief executive Alex Snow informed staff yesterday that as many as 80 jobs would be cut, as reported by Sky News.
Snow took over at Sensyne Health last month, at a time when the firm is struggling with limited funds. The new chief executive has been looking to raise the company’s cash flow, with mass redundancies expected to be part of the crisis plan.
Snow is reportedly looking to sell off a number of divisions of Sensyne, potentially allowing some staff in those divisions to keep working under the new owners.
Last week the Oxfordshire-headquartered company announced an emergency £26.3m refinancing, bringing in new shareholders including the investment firm Hambro Perks.
The decision was made to call off a previously proposed formal sale of the company, following the new emergency financing.
Prior to the financing, Sensyne Health was extremely close to being forced to cease trading, as shown in a statement made to the London Stock Exchange:
“Whilst the board believes the financing will proceed to completion shortly, without it the company is unlikely to be able to continue to trade beyond this month,” read the statement.
Founded by former science minister Lord Drayson, Sensyne Health was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 with a market capitalisation of £225m.
The company specialises in AI-driven data analytics to connect those in the life science industry with healthcare providers.
Following the replacement of company founder Lord Drayson, the company board said: “The board wishes to thank Lord Drayson for his tireless commitment to the company and its aim to realise the potential of clinical AI to revolutionise healthcare in partnership with the NHS and international health systems.
“His vision has set the standard for how healthcare providers like the NHS can benefit from the analysis of health data in a transparent, ethical and fair way
Current CEO Snow previously served as chairman of AI drug discovery firm Exscientia, before its $2.6bn Nasdaq IPO launch.
UKTN has reached out to Sensyne Health for further comment.
