The 20-year-old biotech, which has yet to win its first drug approval, is firing 75 percent of its 290 employees and considering a sale or merger after canceling work on its lead product, The San Francisco Chronicle writes.

What’s more, the company is halting a second late-stage clinical trial of its experimental GVAX med for prostate cancer because an independent committee of experts concluded it was unlikely to show positive results. The same committee called for an early end to a related trial due to safety concerns last summer after finding GVAX-treated prostate cancer patients were dying at a higher rate than those given a different treatment.

More employee cuts are expected next year, and while Cell Genesys still has an early stage research collaboration with Novartis, chief medical officer Robert Dow is among the employees leaving this month.