Crescent Reports Wider Third-Quarter Net Loss of $37.7 Million

The Tip Desk · November 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Third-quarter 2026 license agreement revenue was $3.117 million. Cash stood at $289.4 million as of September 30, 2026, including $133.4 million of net proceeds from a July public offering.

Crescent Biopharma (CBIO) reported license agreement revenue of $3.117 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, versus zero a year earlier, while net loss widened to $37.7 million from $24.6 million. The clinical-stage biotechnology company developing oncology therapies also said it dosed the first patient in the global Phase 1/2 APOLLO trial of CR-002, a PD-L1-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, after the prior quarter’s release had described the study as on track to initiate in the second half of 2026.

The company also completed dose escalation in ASCEND, its global Phase 1/2 trial of CR-001, a PD-1 x VEGF bispecific antibody, with more than 125 patients dosed across the United States, Europe and South Korea, and began expansion cohorts that combine CR-001 with standard-of-care chemotherapy. In the second-quarter update, ASCEND was still described as progressing through enrollment rather than having finished dose escalation.

Chief executive Joshua Brumm said the team’s execution has positioned Crescent for several clinical data readouts in 2027, beginning in the first quarter with monotherapy results from ASCEND, including a first-line non-small cell lung cancer cohort, followed by initial chemotherapy-combination data from multiple tumor types. The company said it is on track to report preliminary overall response rate from a first-line NSCLC cohort of up to 12 patients, along with safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data from more than 125 treatment-naïve and previously treated patients across multiple solid tumor types. Expansion-cohort data from hundreds of patients are on track for mid-2027. Pending those results and further interactions with regulators, Crescent plans to initiate the first of multiple Phase 3 trials of CR-001 in early 2028.

APOLLO is designed to enroll patients in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific with advanced solid tumors, including NSCLC, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and various gastrointestinal and gynecological tumors. Dose-escalation and tumor-specific backfill cohorts are expected to enroll approximately 200 participants; APOLLO may enroll additional participants in expansion cohorts. Crescent anticipates initial APOLLO data in the second half of 2027.

Under its collaboration with Sichuan Kelun-Biotech, which holds exclusive rights to CR-001 (SKB118) in Greater China, multiple Phase 2 studies of CR-001 in combination with sacituzumab tirumotecan are ongoing in China, with initial data in NSCLC expected in mid-2027. The partnership achieved nine IND clearances this year. A Phase 1/2 trial of CR-001 with CR-003, an ITGB6-directed ADC, is expected to commence in the first half of 2027. Kelun-Biotech’s China Phase 1/2 trial of CR-003 is ongoing, with proof-of-concept data expected in the first quarter of 2027. Brumm said the company anticipates more than 2,000 patients dosed across the portfolio by mid-2027.

For the three months ended September 30, 2026, Crescent recorded license agreement revenue of $3.117 million, versus zero in the year-ago quarter. Research and development expenses were $34.3 million, up from $20.3 million a year earlier, which the company attributed to increased clinical development on ASCEND and costs in preparation for APOLLO. General and administrative expenses were $8.7 million, versus $5.5 million a year earlier, driven by personnel costs, including share-based compensation and professional services.

Net loss was $37.7 million, or $0.90 a share, compared with $24.6 million, or $1.27 a share, a year earlier. Weighted-average ordinary shares used in the per-share calculation were 39.1 million, versus 16.5 million a year earlier.

Cash and cash equivalents were $289.4 million as of September 30, 2026, including the $133.4 million of net proceeds from the July 2026 public offering. Crescent said existing cash will fund operations into the second half of 2028. As of that date, the company had approximately 44.1 million ordinary shares and ordinary share equivalents issued and outstanding, including shares underlying pre-funded warrants and non-voting convertible preferred stock.