NuCana Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
Rhea-AI Summary
NuCana (NASDAQ: NCNA) reported second quarter 2026 results and a clinical update. As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were £19.5 million, and the company expects its cash runway to fund planned operations into 2029. Net loss for Q2 2026 was £3.1 million, significantly lower than £24.1 million in Q2 2025, driven by reduced research and development and administrative expenses and the absence of prior-year warrant-related finance charges.
Recruitment is now complete in the Phase 2 NuTide:701 expansion study evaluating NUC-7738 plus pembrolizumab in PD-1 inhibitor‑resistant metastatic melanoma, with final data expected later in 2026 and ongoing FDA discussions on a potential registrational path. NuCana is also assessing additional indications and combinations for NUC-7738 and optimizing future clinical strategy for NUC-3373.
Positive
- Q2 2026 net loss reduced to £3.1 million from £24.1 million year‑over‑year
- Six‑month 2026 net loss cut to £6.9 million from £26.6 million in 2025
- Q2 2026 R&D expenses decreased to £2.3 million from £7.1 million
- Q2 2026 administrative expenses decreased to £1.2 million from £4.5 million
- No 2026 finance expense versus £12.6 million warrant‑related charge in 2025
- Cash and cash equivalents of £19.5 million with runway expected into 2029
- Completed recruitment in Phase 2 NuTide:701 NUC‑7738 melanoma expansion study
Negative
- Company remains loss‑making with Q2 2026 net loss of £3.1 million
- Cash and cash equivalents declined from £24.3 million at December 31, 2025 to £19.5 million
- Accumulated deficit increased to £253.7 million as of June 30, 2026
- Total equity decreased to £20.3 million from £24.3 million at year‑end 2025
Key Figures
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14 | Q1 earnings report | Positive | +10.1% | Q1 results included FDA IND clearance and a 2029 cash runway. |
| Mar 19 | Q4 earnings report | Positive | -3.5% | Clinical activity and 2026 data milestones accompanied year-end financial results. |
| Nov 13 | Q3 earnings report | Positive | -2.3% | Financing extended runway while NUC-7738 and NUC-3373 updates continued. |
| Aug 20 | Q2 earnings report | Positive | +6.4% | Expansion-study dosing and financing extended the company’s runway into 2029. |
| Jun 02 | Q1 earnings report | Positive | +57.4% | Clinical expansion and May financing supported additional pipeline milestones. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
NuCana’s earnings announcements produced mixed outcomes, with three positive and two negative 24-hour reactions across the tag-specific history.
Key Terms
phase 2 medical
investigational new drug application regulatory
pd-1 inhibitor medical
rna polyadenylation technical
thymidylate synthase medical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Final Data from Phase 2 Expansion Study of NUC-7738 Remains on Track for 2026
Advancing Additional Indications and Combination Strategies for NUC-7738
Cash Runway Expected to Extend into 2029
EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, Aug. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NuCana plc (NASDAQ: NCNA) (“NuCana” or the “Company”) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026 and provided an update on its clinical development program with its two lead anti-cancer medicines.
“NuCana continues to build momentum as we advance NUC-7738 closer to several important clinical and regulatory milestones,” said Hugh S. Griffith, NuCana's Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are pleased to announce that recruitment is now complete in our Phase 2 NuTide:701 expansion study evaluating NUC-7738 in combination with Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) in patients with PD-1 inhibitor-resistant metastatic melanoma. Based on the data presented to date, we remain confident in the benefit NUC-7738 may offer these patients, and we remain on track to present final data from this study later this year. Following the Investigational New Drug application (“IND”) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) earlier this year, we look forward to continuing our dialogue with the FDA to determine the optimal path toward a potential registrational strategy for NUC-7738 in melanoma.”
Mr. Griffith continued, “We believe NUC-7738's ability to disrupt RNA polyadenylation and act on multiple aspects of the tumor microenvironment could make an impact across a broad range of tumor types. The Company continues to assess potential additional indications, subject to emerging data and portfolio prioritization.”
Mr. Griffith concluded, “None of this progress would be possible without a strong financial foundation. With cash resources anticipated to fund our operations into 2029, we have the flexibility to keep advancing our pipeline, including evaluating additional indications and combination strategies for NUC-7738 and NUC-3373. We look forward to delivering on our milestones over the remainder of 2026.”
2026 Anticipated Milestones
- NUC-7738
- Complete patient recruitment in the Phase 2 expansion study (NuTide:701) evaluating NUC-7738 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with PD-1 inhibitor-resistant melanoma;
- Announce final data from the Phase 2 expansion study (NuTide:701) of NUC-7738 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with PD-1 inhibitor-resistant melanoma;
- Obtain regulatory guidance from the FDA regarding a potential registrational strategy for NUC-7738 in melanoma; and
- Advance evaluation of additional indications and combination strategies.
- Complete patient recruitment in the Phase 2 expansion study (NuTide:701) evaluating NUC-7738 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with PD-1 inhibitor-resistant melanoma;
- NUC-3373
- Complete evaluation of optimal combinations and indications to inform potential future clinical studies of NUC-3373.
- Complete evaluation of optimal combinations and indications to inform potential future clinical studies of NUC-3373.
Second Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights and Cash Position
As at June 30, 2026, NuCana had cash and cash equivalents of
NuCana reported a net loss of
NuCana reported a net loss of
- Share-based payment expenses of
£2.8 million (2025:£8.2 million ); - Professional fees of £nil (2025:
£1.4 million ) related to the issue of warrants; and - Finance expense of £nil (2025:
£12.6 million ) relating to the non-cash loss on fair value revaluation of the warrants issued in the May 2025 financing.
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share was
About NuCana
NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer by applying our ProTide technology to transform some of the most widely prescribed chemotherapy agents, nucleoside analogs, into more effective and safer medicines. While these conventional agents remain part of the standard of care for the treatment of many solid and hematological tumors, they have significant shortcomings that limit their efficacy and they are often poorly tolerated. Utilizing our proprietary technology, we are developing new medicines, ProTides, designed to overcome the key limitations of nucleoside analogs and generate much higher concentrations of anti-cancer metabolites in cancer cells. NuCana’s pipeline includes NUC-7738 and NUC-3373. NUC-7738 is a novel anti-cancer agent that disrupts RNA polyadenylation, profoundly impacts gene expression in cancer cells and targets multiple aspects of the tumor microenvironment. NUC-7738 is in the Phase 2 part of a Phase 1/2 study which is evaluating NUC-7738 as a monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with melanoma. NUC-3373 is a targeted thymidylate synthase (“TS”) inhibitor designed to overcome key pharmacological limitations associated with other TS inhibitors. NUC-3373 has recently been evaluated in a Phase 1b/2 modular study (NuTide:303) of NUC-3373 in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab for patients with advanced solid tumors and in combination with docetaxel for patients with lung cancer, and NuCana is currently evaluating further characterization of mode of action and target indications for further clinical studies of NUC-3373.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on the beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management of the Company. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements concerning the Company’s planned and ongoing clinical studies for the Company’s product candidates and the potential advantages of those product candidates, including NUC-7738 and NUC-3373; the initiation, enrollment, timing, progress, release of data from and results of those planned and ongoing clinical studies; the Company’s goals with respect to the development, regulatory pathway and potential use, if approved, of each of its product candidates; the utility of prior non-clinical and clinical data in determining future clinical results; and the sufficiency of the Company’s current cash and cash equivalents to fund its planned operations into 2029. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to raise additional capital sufficient to fund our planned operations and the risks and uncertainties set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 19, 2026, and subsequent reports that the Company files with the SEC. Forward-looking statements represent the Company’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform any of the forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
| For the Three Months Ended June 30, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | |||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||||
| Research and development expenses | (2,250 | ) | (7,104 | ) | (5,463 | ) | (8,829 | ) | ||
| Administrative expenses | (1,187 | ) | (4,523 | ) | (2,755 | ) | (5,590 | ) | ||
| Net foreign exchange (losses) gains | (110 | ) | (202 | ) | 253 | (261 | ) | |||
| Operating loss | (3,547 | ) | (11,829 | ) | (7,965 | ) | (14,680 | ) | ||
| Finance income | 134 | 35 | 277 | 60 | ||||||
| Finance expense | - | (12,648 | ) | - | (12,648 | ) | ||||
| Loss before tax | (3,413 | ) | (24,442 | ) | (7,688 | ) | (27,268 | ) | ||
| Income tax credit | 333 | 328 | 743 | 681 | ||||||
| Loss for the period attributable to equity holders of the Company | (3,080 | ) | (24,114 | ) | (6,945 | ) | (26,587 | ) | ||
| Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share | (0.00 | ) | (0.00 | ) | (0.00 | ) | (0.01 | ) | ||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position As At
| June 30, 2026 | December 31, 2025 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Assets | ||||||
| Non-current assets | ||||||
| Intangible assets | 2,206 | 2,198 | ||||
| Property, plant and equipment | 622 | 658 | ||||
| Deferred tax asset | 125 | 117 | ||||
| 2,953 | 2,973 | |||||
| Current assets | ||||||
| Prepayments, accrued income and other receivables | 829 | 849 | ||||
| Current income tax receivable | 2,498 | 1,761 | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 19,503 | 24,251 | ||||
| 22,830 | 26,861 | |||||
| Total assets | 25,783 | 29,834 | ||||
| Equity and liabilities | ||||||
| Capital and reserves | ||||||
| Share capital and share premium | 189,657 | 189,586 | ||||
| Other reserves | 84,352 | 87,075 | ||||
| Accumulated deficit | (253,749 | ) | (252,334 | ) | ||
| Total equity attributable to equity holders of the Company | 20,260 | 24,327 | ||||
| Non-current liabilities | ||||||
| Provisions | 58 | 58 | ||||
| Lease liabilities | 637 | 656 | ||||
| 695 | 714 | |||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||
| Trade payables | 450 | 522 | ||||
| Payroll taxes and social security | 125 | 99 | ||||
| Accrued expenditure | 4,218 | 4,152 | ||||
| Lease liabilities | 35 | 20 | ||||
| 4,828 | 4,793 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 5,523 | 5,507 | ||||
| Total equity and liabilities | 25,783 | 29,834 | ||||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
| For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||
| (in thousands) | |||||
| £ | £ | ||||
| Cash flows from operating activities | |||||
| Loss for the period | (6,945 | ) | (26,587 | ) | |
| Adjustments for: | |||||
| Income tax credit | (743 | ) | (681 | ) | |
| Amortization and depreciation | 139 | 136 | |||
| Movement in provisions | - | (40 | ) | ||
| Finance income | (277 | ) | (60 | ) | |
| Finance expense | - | 12,648 | |||
| Interest expense on lease liabilities | 25 | 5 | |||
| Share-based payments | 2,794 | 8,247 | |||
| Net foreign exchange (gains) losses | (269 | ) | 387 | ||
| (5,276 | ) | (5,945 | ) | ||
| Movements in working capital: | |||||
| Decrease (increase) in prepayments, accrued income and other receivables | 10 | (113 | ) | ||
| Decrease in trade payables | (72 | ) | (1,607 | ) | |
| Increase (decrease) in payroll taxes, social security and accrued expenditure | 93 | (929 | ) | ||
| Movements in working capital | 31 | (2,649 | ) | ||
| Cash used in operations | (5,245 | ) | (8,594 | ) | |
| Net income tax received | - | 999 | |||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (5,245 | ) | (7,595 | ) | |
| Cash flows from investing activities | |||||
| Interest received | 286 | 57 | |||
| Payments for intangible assets | (111 | ) | (96 | ) | |
| Net cash from (used in) investing activities | 175 | (39 | ) | ||
| Cash flows from financing activities | |||||
| Payments for lease liabilities | (27 | ) | (41 | ) | |
| Proceeds from exercise of share options | - | 1 | |||
| Proceeds from issue of share capital | 206 | 1,222 | |||
| Proceeds from exercise of warrants | - | 4,436 | |||
| Proceeds from issue of warrants | - | 4,439 | |||
| Share issue expenses | (135 | ) | (296 | ) | |
| Net cash from financing activities | 44 | 9,761 | |||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents | (5,026 | ) | 2,127 | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | 24,251 | 6,749 | |||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 278 | (433 | ) | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | 19,503 | 8,443 | |||
For more information, please contact:
NuCana plc
Hugh S. Griffith
Chief Executive Officer
+44 131-357-1111
info@nucana.com
ICR Healthcare
Chris Brinzey
+1 339-970-2843
Chris.Brinzey@ICRHealthcare.com
