Cue Biopharma Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Recent Strategic Developments
Rhea-AI Summary
Cue Biopharma (Nasdaq:CUE) reported Q1 2026 collaboration revenue of $5.7 million, up from $0.4 million in Q1 2025, and a net loss of $5.2 million, reduced from $12.3 million. R&D expenses fell to $6.9 million, G&A held at $4.2 million.
The company licensed CUE-221, a Phase 2 anti-IgE asset for allergic disease, and advanced CUE-401, an autoimmune candidate. Liquidity was strengthened by a $30 million private placement and a $7.5 million milestone from Boehringer Ingelheim. Shao-Lee Lin, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed President and CEO.
Positive
- Collaboration revenue rose to $5.7 million from $0.4 million year-over-year
- Net loss narrowed to $5.2 million from $12.3 million year-over-year
- Research and development expenses decreased to $6.9 million from $8.5 million
- Completed $30 million private placement, with approximately $28 million in net proceeds
- Received $7.5 million milestone from Boehringer Ingelheim collaboration
- Exclusive license obtained for Phase 2 anti-IgE asset CUE-221
Negative
- Company remains loss-making with Q1 2026 net loss of $5.2 million
- Cash and cash equivalents declined to $16.4 million from $27.1 million since year-end
- Total assets fell to $30.9 million from $42.2 million quarter-over-quarter
- 1-for-30 reverse stock split effective April 23, 2026
News Market Reaction – CUE
In the May 15 session, CUE declined 9.16%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction. Argus tracked a trough of -23.1% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 15 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16 | Q4/FY 2025 results | Positive | -12.8% | Reported Q4 and full-year 2025 results plus ImmunoScape collaboration and financing. |
| Nov 12 | Q3 2025 results | Positive | -7.2% | Q3 2025 results with ImmunoScape deal and strong CUE-101 clinical data. |
| Aug 12 | Q2 2025 results | Positive | +2.6% | Q2 2025 results plus Boehringer collaboration and public offering. |
| May 12 | Q1 2025 results | Positive | +2.3% | Q1 2025 results with Boehringer deal and follow-on offering. |
| Mar 31 | Q4/FY 2024 results | Positive | -17.7% | Q4 and full-year 2024 results with lower expenses and leadership changes. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent earnings releases have often been operationally positive but followed by share price weakness, with an average move of -6.58% across the last five earnings events.
Over the last five earnings-related updates from March 2025 through March 2026, Cue Biopharma has consistently paired financial results with strategic steps: collaborations with Boehringer Ingelheim and ImmunoScape, advancement of CUE-401 and CUE-501, and cost reductions in R&D and G&A. Cash balances ranged from $11.7M to $27.5M full-year revenue, while net losses persisted. Against that backdrop, this Q1 2026 release adds higher collaboration revenue and a reduced net loss, plus newly emphasized pipeline assets CUE-221 and CUE-401.
Key Terms
pre-funded warrants financial
common warrants financial
investigational new drug (ind) regulatory
u.s. food and drug administration (fda) regulatory
phase 2 medical
phase 1 medical
reverse stock split financial
bifunctional cytokine medical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Moves designed to strengthen leadership and financial position, advance portfolio, and leverage expertise in precision immunoengineering
- Enhanced the company’s portfolio with an exclusive license for, CUE-221, a Phase 2 program targeting allergic disease
- Hosted virtual R&D day showcasing CUE-401, a bifunctional IL-2 and TGF-B program targeting autoimmune disease
- Strengthened the company’s balance sheet and ability to fund anticipated cash needs with a
$30 million private placement and received a$7.5 million milestone payment under a collaboration and license agreement
- Appointed Shao-Lee Lin, M.D., Ph.D., as President, CEO and Board Director to lead continued growth and transformation into a clinical-stage company.
BOSTON, May 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cue Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUE), a clinical stage therapeutics company focused on developing transformative therapies targeting functional cures for immunological disorders, today reported first quarter 2026 financial results and highlighted recent corporate progress and upcoming milestones.
“We are excited to advance our enhanced portfolio targeting the potential for functional cures for allergic and autoimmune diseases with high unmet need. Our newly expanded pipeline reflects our strengthened strategy and position in anticipation of significant value-driving milestones in the second half of 2026,” said Shao-Lee Lin, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cue Biopharma. “With the recent financing, we believe our current cash runway will be sufficient to support the execution of our expected clinical milestones for CUE-221 and CUE-401. As a team, we look forward to leveraging our strength in precision immunoengineering to advance these assets and create long-term shareholder value to provide transformative therapies for patients.”
Business Highlights
Pipeline and Strategy
- Enhanced pipeline with CUE-221 (formerly known as Ascendant-221), a late-stage novel clinical anti-IgE asset with a dual-mechanism through an exclusive license from Ascendant Health Sciences Ltd (Ascendant Health).
- Hosted a virtual R&D Day focused on CUE-401, a potential first-in-class bifunctional cytokine designed to induce tolerance in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Financial and Corporate
- Completed a private placement of pre-funded warrants and accompanying common warrants for gross proceeds of approximately
$30 million , before placement agent fees and offering expenses, and aggregate net proceeds of approximately$28 million , to support the company’s clinical pipeline, including advancing CUE-221.
- Received a
$7.5 million preclinical milestone payment under the Boehringer Ingelheim collaboration and license agreement for the selection and approval of Boehringer Ingelheim’s first compound for lead optimization.
Leadership
- Appointed a new President and CEO, Shao-Lee Lin, M.D., Ph.D., a biopharmaceutical executive and physician scientist with 25 years of experience in core immunology experience who has helped build multi-billion-dollar portfolios, built strong teams, and taken a company from inception to IPO. Additional executives join Cue's legacy team in forming a growing complement of clinical and preclinical expertise across the company.
Upcoming Milestones
CUE-221:
- Cue expects to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) amendment to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand development into food allergy in the second half of 2026.
- Results from Ascendant Health’s ongoing China Phase 2 placebo-and active-controlled dose-ranging study in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria are expected in the second half of 2026.
- Plan to initiate global, Phase 2b trial in food allergy pending Cue’s review of results from Ascendant Health’s ongoing the China Phase 2 CSU study results.
CUE-401:
- Cue expects to submit an IND to the FDA in the second half of 2026.
- Phase 1 first-in-human study expected to be initiated by year-end 2026.
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
First quarter revenue was
Research and development expenses were
General and administrative expenses were
Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was
As of March 31, 2026, the Company had
| Cue Biopharma, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss (Unaudited, In thousands, except share and per share amounts) | |||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| Collaboration revenue | $ | 5,686 | $ | 421 | |||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||
| General and administrative | 4,152 | 4,173 | |||||
| Research and development | 6,897 | 8,547 | |||||
| (Gain) on lease termination | (10 | ) | — | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 11,039 | 12,720 | |||||
| Loss from operations | (5,353 | ) | (12,299 | ) | |||
| Other income (expense): | |||||||
| Interest income | 179 | 170 | |||||
| Interest expense | (4 | ) | (128 | ) | |||
| Total other income, net | 175 | 42 | |||||
| Net loss | $ | (5,178 | ) | $ | (12,257 | ) | |
| Net loss per common share – basic and diluted | $ | (1.08 | ) | $ | (4.95 | ) | |
| Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic and diluted | 4,807,494 | 2,475,156 | |||||
____________________________________________________
(*) The number of shares and per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the one-for-thirty (1-for-30) reverse stock split, which was effective on April 23, 2026.
| Cue Biopharma, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited, In thousands) | |||||||
| March 31, 2026 | December 31, 2025 | ||||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 16,379 | $ | 27,136 | |||
| Other assets | 14,498 | 15,076 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 30,877 | $ | 42,212 | |||
| Liabilities and stockholders’ equity | |||||||
| Liabilities | $ | 9,269 | $ | 15,780 | |||
| Stockholders' equity | 21,608 | 26,432 | |||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 30,877 | $ | 42,212 | |||
About Cue Biopharma
Cue Biopharma (Nasdaq: CUE) is a clinical stage therapeutics company focused on advancing a portfolio of potentially transformative therapies aimed at enabling functional cures across immunological disorders. Its lead asset is a novel anti-IgE antibody with a dual-mechanism of action, currently in Phase 2 development for allergic diseases. In addition, Cue developed the Immuno-STAT® platform which selectively targets disease-specific T cells in vivo without broad immune modulation. Its lead autoimmune candidate, CUE-401, is advancing towards Phase 1 and was designed to regulate inflammation and drive Treg-mediated tolerance. Cue is led by an experienced management team with deep expertise in identifying, acquiring, and advancing promising drug candidates.
For more information please visit www.cuebiopharma.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding: the company’s belief regarding the potential benefits and applications of its drug candidates and programs, including the company’s plans to further advance its assets, including CUE-401 and CUE-221, including anticipated timing for regulatory submissions and initiation of clinical trials; the anticipated timeline for reporting data from Ascendant Health’s China Phase 2 study for CUE-221; the potential therapeutic benefits of the company’s assets, including CUE-401 and CUE-221; and the sufficiency of the company’s current cash and cash equivalents to fund its anticipated clinical milestones for CUE-401 and CUE-221 for the remainder of 2026. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the company’s future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “project,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “promise” or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding the company’s strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the company’s actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the company’s ability to maintain and establish collaboration, licensing and other arrangements; the company’s limited operating history, limited cash and a history of losses; the company’s ability to obtain adequate financing to fund its business operations in the near term and successfully remediate its current “going concern” determination that it does not have sufficient capital on hand to continue operations beyond the next twelve months; the company’s ability to achieve profitability; potential setbacks in the company’s research and development efforts for its current and future drug product candidates, including negative or inconclusive results from its preclinical studies or clinical trials or the company’s ability to replicate in later clinical trials positive results found in preclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials of its product candidates; serious and unexpected drug-related side effects or other safety issues experienced by participants in clinical trials; potential challenges associated with clinical trials conducted in China and the company’s access to, and acceptability of, the data therefrom; its ability to secure required FDA or other governmental approvals for its product candidates and the breadth of any approved indication; delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines including potential delays in submitting required regulatory applications to the FDA; the company’s reliance on licensors, collaborators, contract research organizations, suppliers and other business partners; the company’s ability to obtain adequate financing to fund its business operations in the future and ability to continue as a going concern; the company’s ability to maintain and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection; competitive factors; general economic and market conditions and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Quarterly Report(s) on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement made by the company in this press release is based only on information currently available to the company and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Investor and Media Contact
Agnes Lee
Chief Officer of Public and Investor Relations
Marie Campinell
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
ir@cuebio.com
Cue Biopharma, Inc.
