NextCure backs Avere merger with $320 million financing
- NextCure and Avere agreed to an all-stock merger focused on Avere’s once-weekly oral IL-23 candidate, AVR-001.
- NextCure shares rose 11.4% to $2.18 in premarket trading following the announcement.
- A concurrent $320 million financing is expected to fund several psoriasis and ulcerative colitis clinical milestones.
NextCure (NASDAQ:NXTC) agreed to merge with privately held Avere Therapeutics in an all-stock transaction supported by a concurrent $320 million private placement.
The combined company is expected to operate as Avere Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker AVRX after closing in the second half of 2026.
The financing includes $251 million of convertible notes exchanged into common stock, while existing NextCure shareholders are expected to own approximately 1.21% of the combined company.
Avere expects the financing to support a Phase 2b psoriasis readout and the start of Phase 3 psoriasis and Phase 2b ulcerative colitis studies.
Avere licensed AVR-001 rights outside Greater China from Hansoh, which will receive $120 million upfront, up to $2.18 billion in milestones and tiered royalties.
The company expects to begin a global Phase 2b psoriasis study in early 2027 and report results in the first half of 2028, while NextCure shareholders will receive rights to 90% of certain pipeline-monetization proceeds.
