-- Announced Proposed Merger with Avere Therapeutics -- Preserving Capital in Support of Merger Closing; Continuing Clinical Transition and Legacy Asset Activities
BELTSVILLE, Md., Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NextCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel therapies to treat cancer, today provided a business update and reported second quarter 2026 financial results.
"Following quarter end, we announced our proposed merger with Avere Therapeutics, together with Avere's concurrent private financing expected to generate approximately $320 million in gross proceeds, and we are working toward a closing in the second half of 2026. In parallel, we are preserving capital in support of that closing. Our team continues to support the ongoing clinical programs and obligations to our partners, and opportunities to preserve value for our shareholders," said Michael Richman, President and CEO of NextCure.
Recent Business Highlights
-- Announced a definitive merger agreement with Avere Therapeutics in an
all-stock transaction. Upon closing, the combined company is expected to
operate as Avere Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol
"AVRX". Existing NextCure stockholders are expected to receive contingent
value rights ("CVRs") tied to certain legacy NextCure assets.
Concurrently, Avere Therapeutics entered into a securities purchase
agreement providing for a private financing expected to generate
approximately $320 million in gross proceeds immediately prior to closing
of the merger, subject to customary closing conditions.
-- Entered into a Transition and Continuation Agreement with LigaChem
Biosciences ("LigaChem") under which LigaChem has elected to continue the
development of LNCB74 as the "Sole Developing Party" pursuant to the
terms under the parties' November 2022 Research Collaboration and
Co-Development Agreement. NextCure, according to these agreements,
remains eligible to receive future milestone and royalty payments for the
development and commercialization of LNCB74.
-- Advanced restructuring initiatives to reduce operating expenses,
including facility footprint reductions and the sale of certain
manufacturing, laboratory and facility-related assets in preparation for
completion of the merger.
-- Initiated efforts to preserve value of SIM0505 and our current clinical
and pre-clinical assets for our shareholders.
Financial Results for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2026
-- Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of June 30, 2026
were $20.1 million as compared to $41.8 million as of December 31, 2025.
The decrease of $21.7 million was primarily due to cash used to fund
operations of $23.1 million, partially offset by proceeds of $1.2 million
from equity sales under our existing ATM program. In connection with the
proposed merger with Avere Therapeutics and related restructuring
activities, NextCure is focused on preserving capital, completing the
proposed transaction and pursuing efforts to preserve value of our
current clinical and pre-clinical assets.
-- Research and development expenses were $7.4 million for the three months
ended June 30, 2026, as compared to $24.1 million for the three months
ended June 30, 2025. The decrease of $16.7 million was due to $17.0
million of license fees incurred in the prior year that did not occur in
the current year.
-- General and administrative expenses were $2.6 million for the three
months ended June 30, 2026, as compared to $3.2 million for the three
months ended June 30, 2025. The decrease of $0.6 million was primarily
related to lower personnel related costs.
-- Asset impairment costs associated with our recently announced
restructuring initiatives to reduce our footprint and sell certain
facility and laboratory assets totaled $5.1 million in the second
quarter.
-- Net loss was $14.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, as
compared to a net loss of $26.8 million for the three months ended June
30, 2025. The lower net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2026 as
compared to the three months ended June 30, 2025 was driven by the lower
research and development and general and administrative expenses
mentioned above, partially offset by impairment costs of $5.1 million and
lower other income, net, of $0.3 million.
About the Merger
On July 14, 2026 NextCure announced a definitive merger agreement with Avere Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company developing oral therapies for IL-23-driven inflammatory diseases, in an all-stock transaction. Concurrently with the merger agreement, Avere entered into a securities purchase agreement providing for a private financing expected to generate approximately $320 million in gross proceeds immediately prior to closing, subject to customary closing conditions. Upon closing, the combined company is expected to operate as Avere Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "AVRX." Following completion of the merger, the combined company will be led by Avere's management team and governed by a board of directors constituted in accordance with the merger agreement. Existing NextCure stockholders are expected to retain an ownership interest in the combined company and receive CVRs tied to the potential future value of specified legacy NextCure assets. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions.
About SIM0505
SIM0505 is an investigational antibody-drug conjugate $(ADC)$ targeting CDH6 and incorporating a proprietary topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. On July 14, 2026, the Company announced it had informed all U.S. clinical trial sites to stop screening, consenting, and enrolling new patients and that it no longer intends to expand the clinical site footprint. The Company is seeking opportunities to preserve the value of SIM0505 for our shareholders.
About LNCB74
LNCB74 is a novel ADC directed to B7-H4, featuring a proprietary tumor-selective cleavable linker and MMAE payload. Following execution of a Transition and Continuation Agreement with LigaChem, LigaChem has elected to continue the program as Sole Developing Party. NextCure is providing transition support to facilitate the transfer of program-related activities and ongoing clinical trial operations. Pursuant to the November 2022 LigaChem Agreement, NextCure remains eligible to receive future development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and royalties.
About NextCure, Inc.
NextCure is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland. NextCure's retained clinical, regulatory, CMC, and finance personnel support the ongoing clinical development of LNCB74 under the Company's Transition and Continuation Agreement with LigaChem Biosciences, manage the transition of patients enrolled in the SIM0505 study, and conduct the Company's efforts to partner, license or otherwise monetize its legacy clinical and preclinical assets. NextCure has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Avere Therapeutics and, upon closing, the combined company is expected to operate as Avere Therapeutics and to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "AVRX."
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning NextCure, Avere Therapeutics, the proposed merger and other matters, including with respect to the structure, timing and completion of the proposed merger; the combined company's listing on Nasdaq after closing of the proposed merger; expectations regarding the ownership structure of the combined company; expectations regarding the contingent value rights; the future operations of the combined company; the nature, strategy and focus of the combined company; as well as funding for our operations, our expected cash runway, objectives and expectations for our business, operations and financial performance and condition, and expectations regarding the progress and results of clinical trials, development plans and upcoming milestones regarding our therapies. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "aim", "anticipate", "assume", "believe", "continue", "could", "should", "due", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "hope", "may", "objective", "plan", "predict", "potential", "positioned", "seek", "target", "towards", "forward", "later", "will", "would", and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or similar language.