San Francisco-based Avere Therapeutics announced a USD 500 million private placement to fund clinical development of AVR-001 (HS-20118), a once-weekly oral interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) antagonist being advanced for inflammatory diseases including plaque psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease. The raise follows a USD 320 million concurrent private placement announced alongside Avere's merger with NextCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTC) in July 2026, bringing total pre-merger capital raised to USD 820 million. Combined, the two financings are expected to fund Avere's operating plan through 2029.
The USD 500 million private placement consists of common stock and pre-funded warrants. Investors include Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, General Atlantic, Blackstone Multi-Asset Investing, RTW Investments, Eventide Asset Management, BB Biotech, Sirenia Capital Management LP, ADAR1 Capital Management, Wellington Management, Janus Henderson Investors, and other institutional investors. Both placements are expected to close immediately prior to completion of the merger with NextCure, at which point Avere is expected to have approximately 449.7 million as-converted shares outstanding. Upon closing, the combined company will operate as Avere Therapeutics, Inc. and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "AVRX," with the merger expected to close in the second half of 2026.
AVR-001 is a cyclic peptide IL-23R antagonist licensed from China-based Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. under an exclusive ex-Greater China agreement signed in June 2026. The deal included USD 120 million in upfront payments and up to USD 2.18 billion in development and sales milestones, plus mid-single- to low-double-digit royalties. Hansoh, which also participated in the USD 320 million placement, is expected to hold between 30% and 40% of the combined company post-closing and will appoint two directors to the board, as detailed in Hansoh's voluntary disclosure filed with the Hong Kong Exchange.
AVR-001's differentiation thesis rests on its pharmacokinetic profile: a plasma half-life of approximately 100 hours enables once-weekly oral dosing, compared with the once-daily regimen required for Johnson & Johnson's icotrokinra (Icotyde), the first approved oral IL-23R antagonist, which received US FDA approval for plaque psoriasis in March 2026. Phase Ib data generated by Hansoh in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients indicated that once-weekly AVR-001 achieved Week 4 and Week 8 PASI and PASI 75 responses comparable, on a cross-trial basis, to once-daily icotrokinra, despite patients receiving only four weeks of active dosing. The company said the data suggest durable pharmacodynamic activity consistent with the molecule's extended half-life.