Sometimes a partnership ends with a handshake and a press release about "strategic alignment." Sometimes it ends with 40% of your staff packing boxes. Foghorn Therapeutics Inc. (FHTX) is living the second version.

The stock is trading lower on Thursday with a session volume of 9.158 million, compared to the average volume of 377.206 thousand, according to market data.

The Lilly Breakup, Explained

After reviewing Phase 1 data for FHD-909 (LY4050784), Foghorn and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) decided not to push the program into clinical development expansion. They also won't advance their Selective SMARCA2 degrader program, and neither side expects further collaboration activities.

That's a lot of doors closing at once. The two companies first teamed up in 2021 around Foghorn's selective BRM program and an additional undisclosed program, plus three more discovery programs built on Foghorn's proprietary Gene Traffic Control platform. Now the collaboration is effectively winding down.

Instead, Foghorn says it will prioritize its wholly owned pipeline: a Selective EP300 degrader, an oral immunology and inflammation program, a Selective CBP degrader, and its induced proximity platform.

What the Cuts Buy: Time

The pipeline reprioritization and organizational changes, including an approximately 40% workforce reduction, are expected to extend Foghorn's cash runway into the second half of 2029. As of June 30, 2026, the company had $167.6 million.

So the math here is pretty simple: fewer people, fewer programs, more months of breathing room. In biotech, runway is the whole ballgame.

The EP300 Bet

The lead horse now is the EP300 degrader. Preclinical data highlighted its therapeutic potential in multiple myeloma, including superior anti-tumor activity with complete responses compared to the clinical benchmark dual CBP/EP300 inhibitor inobrodib.

The data also showed safety in body weight loss and platelet counts over dual degradation, and tumor regression in a multiple myeloma xenograft model of acquired pomalidomide resistance. Foghorn is targeting an FDA Investigational New Drug application for human trials in 2027, with a focus on multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

This Isn't Foghorn's First Pivot

Back in 2024, the company discontinued independent development of its FHD-286 program in combination with decitabine for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia due to insufficient response rates in a Phase 1 trial. At the time, it said it would prioritize proprietary programs including Selective CBP, Selective EP300, and ARID1B, along with the Eli Lilly collaboration that included FHD-909.

Two years later, the Lilly half of that plan is gone, and the proprietary half is all that's left.

FHTX Price Action: Foghorn Therapeutics shares were down 27.17% at $2.60 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week low, according to market data.