Humacyte was riding high in December 2024 when it secured an FDA green light for a groundbreaking implant. Now, as it looks to boost sales of the device, it’s making sweeping cuts to keep up.
In its first-quarter financials, the medtech revealed that sales of its Symvess device generated just $500,000 in 2026, up marginally from $100,000 in 2025. In contrast, cost of goods sold totaled $2 million in the first quarter.
The company currently has “cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash” totaling $48.9 million. To help cut costs, Humacyte announced it will reduce its workforce by 25%—about 45 employees—through a reduction in force and deferred hiring plans, according to its May 13 financial report.
The company added that it has also “over the past two months, reduced our expected spending by $14.3 million for the remainder of 2026.”
But it is “maintaining a key focus on medical education, sales and marketing,” alongside the hiring of new Chief Commercial Officer Jim Mercadante, to help boost lagging Symvess sales.
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This off-the-shelf, bioengineered blood vessel implant is designed to replace a patient’s damaged artery following traumatic injuries to the arms or legs. It drew significant attention when it was approved just before Christmas Day in 2024.
The current surgical standard of care involves harvesting one of the patient’s own veins to serve as a new conduit for oxygenated blood or relying on a synthetic graft. But not all patients are eligible for those procedures, which can also carry risks of contamination or infection.
Humacyte’s tissue-based Symvess is designed to be universally implantable, helping rapidly reconnect the vascular system when a patient is facing the loss of a limb.
Humacyte is also developing its engineered vessel platform for use in other settings. The company highlighted in its Q1 update that it expects topline interim results next month from its phase 3 trial in hemodialysis.
If all goes according to plan, Humacyte said it would seek to submit a supplemental BLA in the second half of the year to add hemodialysis as an indication for the implant.
