VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. ("Rakovina" or the "Company") (TSX-V: RKV) (FSE: 7J0), a biopharmaceutical company advancing next-generation cancer therapies through artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and provided a corporate update.
As Rakovina enters 2026, the Company is advancing its three primary drug discovery programs toward key value-creating milestones. For kt-5000, lead optimization continues with Variational AI, with lead candidate selection and IND-enabling studies targeted for the second half of 2026. For kt-3283, in vivo ADME and efficacy testing of the LNP formulation is underway with NanoPalm. For kt-2000, a second round of AI output and in vitro testing is advancing. Across all programs, the Company intends to progress pharmaceutical partnership discussions as preclinical data matures.
"Completing the first phase of our restructuring marks an important inflection point for Rakovina," said Kim Oishi, CEO of Rakovina. "Through the recent debenture restructuring, new financing, and the strengthening of our board and executive team, we are well on our way to repositioning the Company for success. As we continue to put our financial house in order, we are sharpening our focus on execution -- advancing our DDR inhibitor pipeline, expanding our strategic partnerships, and unlocking the full potential of our world-class AI-driven drug discovery engine to deliver value for our shareholders."
2025 Highlights and Recent Developments
Leadership and Board
-- On January 27, 2026, Rakovina appointed Kim Oishi as Chief Executive
Officer. Mr. Oishi brings over 25 years of capital markets experience,
including as founder of Grand Rock Capital Inc. and partner at First
Growth Equity Partners Inc.
-- On January 27, 2026, Rakovina welcomed Frank Holler to its Board of
Directors. Mr. Holler has been directly involved in the founding and
development of a number of Canada's leading biopharma companies,
including ID Biomedical Corp., Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Xenon
Pharmaceuticals Inc.
-- On May 5, 2025, Rakovina appointed Dr. David Kideckel, PhD, MBA as Chief
Financial Officer. Dr. Kideckel brings over 20 years of life sciences and
capital markets experience, with prior senior operational and finance
positions at both public and private companies, including at Johnson &
Johnson, Alexion Pharmaceuticals (acquired by AstraZeneca), and ATB
Cormark Capital Markets.
-- On April 29, 2025, Rakovina appointed Yevgeniy Meshcherekov and Dr. David
Kideckel to the Board, with Mr. Meshcherekov assuming Chair of the Audit
Committee.
Financing and Capital Structure
-- On March 5, 2026, Rakovina closed a non-brokered private placement of
convertible debenture units for gross proceeds of $1,000,000 and
concurrently restructured $1,587,131 in existing debentures through a
combination of share settlements (3,265,585 shares at $0.12) and
replacement debentures, significantly strengthening the Company's balance
sheet.
-- On July 15, 2025, Rakovina common shares became eligible for electronic
clearing and settlement through the Depository Trust Company (DTC),
broadening access for U.S. investors.
-- On June 24, 2025, Rakovina completed a 10-to-1 share consolidation of its
issued and outstanding common shares.
-- On June 6, 2025, Rakovina closed a non-brokered private placement of
equity units for gross proceeds of $3,555,150, concurrent with a
$1,350,000 convertible debenture financing.
-- On January 30, 2025, Rakovina listed its common shares on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange (FSE) under the ticker symbol "7J0", broadening access to
European investors.
AI Platform Partnerships
-- On January 8, 2026, Rakovina expanded its collaboration with Variational
AI and its Enki$(TM)$ generative AI platform for continued lead
optimization of the kt-5000 dual ATR-mTOR inhibitor program.
-- On August 12, 2025, Rakovina and NanoPalm Ltd. (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
announced a non-binding Letter of Intent to form a joint venture to
co-develop AI-discovered oncology therapies, beginning with kt-3283
delivered via NanoPalm's patterned lipid nanoparticle (pLNP) system
designed using its EnsaliX(TM) AI platform.
Scientific and Clinical Milestones
-- In April 2026, Rakovina presented two posters at the 2026 AACR Annual
Meeting in San Diego. For kt-5000, a prototype lead candidate
demonstrated in vivo tumour growth inhibition comparable to ceralasertib
in an LNCaP prostate model, with significantly improved tolerability and
no signs of hematological toxicity. For kt-3283 LNP, successful
characterization of the EnsaliX-designed formulation confirmed uniform
particle size, stable colloidal behavior, and surface features predicted
to enhance cellular uptake.
-- On November 24, 2025, Rakovina presented two posters at the Society for
Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting, reporting CNS penetrance, metabolic
stability, and in vivo tolerability for lead candidates in both the
kt-5000 and kt-2000 programs.
-- On November 18, 2025, Rakovina announced that President & CSO Prof. Mads
Daugaard was invited to present and participate as a panelist at the 9th
Annual DNA Damage Response (DDR) Inhibitors Summit in January 2026.
-- On October 27, 2025, Rakovina presented pre-clinical data at the
AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference confirming potent ATR inhibition
and CNS penetration for the kt-5000 series -- a milestone differentiator
in the DDR inhibitor space.
-- On August 26, 2025, Rakovina announced that President & CSO Prof. Mads
Daugaard was invited to speak at the 13th Tuscany Retreat on Cancer
Research & Apoptosis (August 23-30), highlighting Rakovina's DDR-targeted
drug discovery and development accomplishments.
-- On April 28-29, 2025, Rakovina presented pre-clinical data on the kt-2000
and kt-5000 programs at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) Annual Meeting.
-- The Company's preclinical kt-3283 program continues to demonstrate
superior cytotoxicity versus FDA-approved olaparib and vorinostat across
multiple tumor types, as reported in a peer-reviewed publication in
Clinical Cancer Research.
Pipeline Progress
-- On July 23, 2025, Rakovina announced that its kt-5000 program had
identified potent ATR inhibitor hits during early-stage screening.
-- On March 12, 2025, Rakovina received the first synthesized batch of
AI-generated ATR inhibitor compounds from its Variational AI
collaboration.
-- On January 13, 2025, Rakovina achieved a shortlist of AI-generated
CNS-penetrant ATR-targeting molecules, completing the initial AI-driven
candidate generation phase for kt-5000.
-- On January 6, 2025, Rakovina received initial synthesized AI-generated
PARP inhibitor compounds for in vitro and in vivo validation in the
kt-2000 program.
Summary Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2025
All dollar amounts reflected in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.
At December 31, 2025, the Company had a working capital deficit of approximately $2,149,223 and cash and cash equivalents of $298,758. For the three- and twelve-months ended December 31, 2025, the Company reported a net loss of $1,893,159 and $8,680,576, respectively. Research and development expenses were $828,931 and $4,603,002; general and administrative expenses were $972,872 and $3,684,750 for the three- and twelve-months ended December 31, 2025, respectively. Total operating expenses for the three- and twelve-months ended December 31, 2025 were $1,801,803 and $8,287,752, respectively.
Subsequent to year-end, the Company strengthened its balance sheet through approximately $1.0 million in new convertible debenture financing and the restructuring of $1,587,131 in existing debentures, as further described in the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed on SEDAR+.
Selected Financial Information As at December 31, 2025 ($)
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Cash & cash equivalents 298,758
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Working capital (deficit) (2,149,223)
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Intangible assets 3,439,896
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Total Assets 4,240,407
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Total liabilities 4,100,682
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Deficit (23,678,505)
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Total equity 139,725
--------------------------------- ---------------------------
Three Three
months months
ended Dec ended Dec Year ended Year ended
31, 2025 31, 2024 Dec 31, Dec 31,
($) ($) 2025 ($) 2024 ($)
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Expenses
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -------------
Research and
development 828,931 744,533 4,603,002 2,341,600
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
General and
administrative 972,872 650,268 3,684,750 1,446,451
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net loss before
other items 1,801,803 1,394,801 8,287,752 3,788,051
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Other items
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -------------
Interest income (773) - (797) (5,819)
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Interest
expense 146,338 45,793 274,596 182,177
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Accretion
expense (37,860) 23,291 132,100 86,363
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Loss (gain) on
settlement of
debt - 18,815 - 18,815
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Loss (gain) on
modification
of convertible
debt (18,623) - (18,623) -
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Foreign
exchange loss 2,275 1,288 5,548 3,031
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total other
expense
(income) 91,357 89,187 392,824 284,567
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net loss and
comprehensive
loss (1,893,159) (1,483,988) (8,680,576) (4,072,618)
------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Rakovina Therapeutics' financial statements as filed with SEDAR+ can be accessed from the Company's website at: https://www.rakovinatherapeutics.com/corporate-profile/
About Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.
Rakovina Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical research company focused on the development of innovative cancer treatments. Our work is based on unique technologies for targeting the DNA-damage response powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) using validated, proprietary platforms. By using AI, we can review and optimize drug candidates at a much greater pace than ever before.
The Company has established a pipeline of distinctive DNA-damage response inhibitors with the goal of advancing one or more drug candidates into human clinical trials in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners.
Further information may be found at http://www.rakovinatherapeutics.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Notice Regarding Rakovina Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding the company and its respective business, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed business plan of the company and other statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans," "is expected," "expects," "scheduled," "intends," "contemplates," "anticipates," "believes," "proposes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may," "could," "would," "might," or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of the company. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, including risks regarding the biopharmaceutical industry, economic factors, regulatory factors, the equity markets generally, and risks associated with growth and competition.
Although the company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated, or intended. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. The reader is referred to the company's most recent filings on SEDAR+ for a more complete discussion of all applicable risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the company's profile page at www.sedar.com.
For Further Information Contact:
Investor Relations
Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.
IR@rakovinatherapeutics.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 30, 2026 17:17 ET (21:17 GMT)