LENZ Therapeutics cuts 2027 budget, CEO to step down as VIZZ sales climb

LENZ Therapeutics said on October 28, 2026 that Evert Schimmelpennink, the company's President and Chief Executive Officer, will transition from his roles as President and CEO effective December 1, 2026, with Daniel Chevallard, the company's current Chief Financial Officer, succeeding him as Interim President and CEO¹. The company's press release refers to him as "Eef Schimmelpennink," while the filing's formal disclosure under Item 5.02 identifies him as Evert Schimmelpennink. Schimmelpennink will also resign from the board effective the same date¹.

Alongside the leadership change, the board approved a reorganization that included decreasing the company's headcount by approximately 75% to approximately 40 full-time employees¹. The company said the move is expected to reduce projected 2027 annualized operating expenses by more than 50%, targeting approximately $70 million to $75 million in 2027 operating expenses, excluding stock-based compensation¹, with substantially all reorganization activities anticipated to be completed during Q4 2026 at an estimated $5 million in one-time net restructuring charges¹.

On the commercial side, Q3 2026 product sales were $2.6 million on over 38,000 paid prescriptions, up approximately 50% and 51% over Q2 2026, respectively¹. A telehealth prescribing option launched in July 2026 contributed more than half of the incremental prescriptions in Q3 versus Q2¹. The company counted over 15,000 unique prescribers from launch through Q3 2026, with over 75% prescribing multiple times¹.

Internationally, an MAA for presbyopia was submitted in Saudi Arabia in July 2026 under the Lunatus distribution agreement, the ninth ex-U.S. regulatory filing for VIZZ¹, and MAAs were submitted in Malaysia and Vietnam in August and September 2026 under the Lotus agreement, the tenth and eleventh ex-U.S. filings¹.

LENZ reported cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $197.3 million as of September 30, 2026¹.