Olema's Third-Quarter Loss Widens as Late-Stage Trials Ramp

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 3 min read

Olema reported a third-quarter 2026 net loss of $73.6 million, with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $413.8 million as the company said it remained on track for OPERA-01 top-line data in the first quarter of 2027.

Olema Pharmaceuticals (OLMA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on targeted therapies for breast cancer, reported a net loss of $73.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $42.2 million a year earlier, as spending on late-stage palazestrant trials and the OP-3136 program rose.

The company said the wider loss was primarily related to increased patient enrollment in the pivotal Phase 3 OPERA-01 trial, strong enrollment in Phase 3 OPERA-02, continued advancement of the Phase 1b/2 OP-3136 program, research activities, higher manufacturing and clinical supply, early preparations for potential commercialization of palazestrant, and higher personnel-related costs.

GAAP research and development expenses were $67.6 million in the third quarter, versus $40.0 million a year earlier. Olema attributed the increase to enrollment in OPERA-01 and OPERA-02, manufacturing and clinical supply for those programs, the OP-3136 study, and higher personnel costs, including an increase in non-cash stock-based compensation of $5.1 million, mainly from higher 2026 grant prices and higher headcount. Non-GAAP R&D expenses were $59.9 million, excluding $7.7 million of stock-based compensation, compared with $37.4 million a year earlier after excluding $2.6 million.

GAAP general and administrative expenses were $9.9 million, up from $5.9 million a year earlier. The company said the increase reflected investment in personnel and corporate infrastructure for expanding late-stage development and early commercialization preparations, including $2.7 million more stock-based compensation and $1.0 million more professional fees. Non-GAAP G&A expenses were $5.5 million, excluding $4.4 million of stock-based compensation, versus $4.3 million a year earlier after excluding $1.7 million.

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $413.8 million as of September 30, 2026, down from $461.1 million at June 30, 2026. Total assets were $441.1 million and stockholders’ equity was $368.8 million at September 30, 2026. Interest income for the quarter was $4.05 million. Net loss per share, basic and diluted, was $0.73.

Olema said it remained on track to announce top-line data from OPERA-01 in the first quarter of 2027, after completing enrollment in that trial in the second quarter. President and Chief Executive Officer Sean P. Bohen said the company remained confident in palazestrant’s potential as a differentiated endocrine therapy in second- and third-line metastatic breast cancer, and that enrollment in OPERA-02, which evaluates palazestrant with ribociclib in first-line disease, was accelerating.

The company also said it continued strong enrollment in OPERA-02 and in the Phase 1b/2 study of OP-3136. It appointed Jason O’Byrne as Chief Financial Officer in the third quarter. Bohen said his experience in corporate strategy, capital markets, and financial management would be valuable as the company prepares for key catalysts in 2027 and continues its transformation into a fully integrated oncology company.

Upcoming events Olema listed include preclinical data on selective degradation of KAT6A in ER-positive breast cancer at the 38th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium in November, and data from the Phase 1b/2 studies of OP-3136 with fulvestrant and palazestrant with everolimus, and the Phase 1b study of palazestrant with atirmociclib, at the 2026 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December. The company said it would initiate enrollment in the Phase 1b/2 study of OP-3136 in combination with darolutamide in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in collaboration with Bayer in the fourth quarter of 2026.