NextCure reports Q2 2026 results, moves toward Avere Therapeutics merger

NextCure said on August 6, 2026 that it is focused on preserving capital as it works toward closing its previously announced merger with Avere Therapeutics. The company said the merger, together with Avere's concurrent private financing expected to generate approximately $320 million in gross proceeds, is targeted to close in the second half of 2026.¹

On July 14, 2026, NextCure entered into a definitive merger agreement with Avere Therapeutics, described as a privately held biotechnology company developing oral therapies for IL-23-driven inflammatory diseases, structured as an all-stock transaction¹. Once the deal closes, the combined entity is expected to operate as Avere Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "AVRX."¹ Current NextCure stockholders are expected to retain a stake in the combined company and receive contingent value rights tied to the potential future value of specified legacy NextCure assets.¹

On the pipeline side, also on July 14, 2026, NextCure told all U.S. clinical trial sites to halt screening, consent, and enrollment of new patients for SIM0505, and said it no longer plans to expand the trial's site footprint¹. The company is now seeking ways to preserve value from SIM0505 for shareholders.¹ Separately, NextCure entered into a Transition and Continuation Agreement with LigaChem Biosciences, under which LigaChem has taken over as the sole party developing LNCB74 under the companies' November 2022 collaboration agreement.¹ NextCure remains eligible for future milestone and royalty payments tied to LNCB74's development and commercialization.¹

On finances, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities stood at $20.1 million as of June 30, 2026, down from $41.8 million at the end of 2025¹, a decline the company attributed mainly to $23.1 million used to fund operations, partly offset by $1.2 million raised through its ATM equity program.¹