Clene Stock Price, News & Analysis
Company Description
Clene Inc. (Nasdaq: CLNN) is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in the pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing industry. The company, together with its wholly owned subsidiary Clene Nanomedicine, Inc., is focused on improving mitochondrial health and protecting neuronal function to treat neurodegenerative and neurological diseases. According to company disclosures, Clene’s programs concentrate on conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and broader neurological diseases where neuronal survival and function are compromised.
Clene is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with research and development and manufacturing operations in Maryland. Its common stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol CLNN. The company describes itself as late clinical-stage, reflecting that its lead assets are in advanced stages of clinical development rather than early discovery.
Core therapeutic focus and scientific approach
Clene’s work centers on therapies that improve mitochondrial health and neuronal bioenergetics. The company highlights a focus on protecting neuronal function by targeting mitochondrial function and the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) pathway, while also aiming to reduce oxidative stress. This approach is intended to increase the resilience of neurons and glial cells to disease-relevant stressors that contribute to neurodegeneration.
The company’s lead investigational asset is CNM-Au8®, described as an oral suspension of gold nanocrystals. Clene states that CNM-Au8 is designed to restore neuronal health and function by increasing energy production and utilization in central nervous system cells. The catalytically active nanocrystals in CNM-Au8 are reported to drive critical cellular energy-producing reactions that enable neuroprotection and remyelination by increasing neuronal and glial resilience to disease-relevant stressors. CNM-Au8 is characterized by the company as a first-in-class therapy that improves central nervous system cell survival and function via a mechanism that targets mitochondrial function and the NAD pathway while reducing oxidative stress.
Disease areas and clinical development programs
Clene’s primary clinical development efforts for CNM-Au8 are in ALS and MS, with additional work in PD and other neurological diseases:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Clene has conducted clinical studies of CNM-Au8 in ALS, including participation in the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial and an NIH-sponsored Expanded Access Program (NIH-EAP). Company press releases describe biomarker analyses showing statistically significant reductions in neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in participants treated with CNM-Au8, and analyses associating biomarker declines with improved survival outcomes. Clene has engaged in multiple Type C meetings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its ALS biomarker data and has discussed an accelerated approval pathway for a potential New Drug Application (NDA) for CNM-Au8 in ALS.
- Multiple sclerosis (MS): Clene has reported Phase 2 data from the VISIONARY-MS and REPAIR-MS trials, as well as REPAIR-PD, examining CNM-Au8’s effects on brain energy metabolism. In the REPAIR-MS and REPAIR-PD studies, CNM-Au8 treatment was associated with improvements in the brain NAD+/NADH ratio, a measure of energetic capacity, and related changes in brain NAD+ and NADH fractions. Clene has also held a Type B end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA to discuss its MS clinical development program and potential endpoints for a planned Phase 3 study, including cognition-focused measures.
- Parkinson’s disease (PD): Clene has reported preclinical data in a dopaminergic neuron model of PD, noting improvements in measures of cellular health, mitochondrial function, cellular metabolism, inflammation, and gene expression after CNM-Au8 exposure. These data are described by the company as supporting continued development of CNM-Au8 as a potential treatment for PD.
Across these programs, Clene emphasizes the role of bioenergetic failure and mitochondrial dysfunction as contributors to neurodegeneration, and positions CNM-Au8 as a candidate therapy that may address these underlying mechanisms by improving brain energy metabolism and cellular resilience.
Biomarkers, survival analyses, and regulatory interactions
In ALS, Clene has generated data that link CNM-Au8 treatment to changes in disease-relevant biomarkers and survival outcomes. Company communications describe:
- Statistically significant reductions in NfL and GFAP in the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial and NIH-sponsored Expanded Access Program, with concordant biomarker trajectories across independent datasets.
- Analyses indicating that longitudinal NfL increases are associated with increased mortality risk in ALS, and that modest NfL reductions of a magnitude similar to those observed with CNM-Au8 treatment are associated with lower mortality risk in large ALS cohorts.
- Exploratory findings identifying Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 7 (IGFBP7) as an additional pharmacodynamic biomarker of treatment response to CNM-Au8 30 mg in the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, with IGFBP7 declines associated with reduced mortality risk.
- Updated survival analyses from the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial open-label extension, where CNM-Au8 30 mg treatment is reported to demonstrate statistically significant survival benefits versus concurrent controls under specified covariate models.
Clene has engaged with the FDA through Type C and Type B meetings to discuss these data and potential regulatory pathways. Company disclosures indicate that the FDA has recommended specific biomarker analyses to strengthen the persuasiveness of CNM-Au8’s effects on NfL and related biomarkers, and that Clene has pursued these analyses in line with FDA feedback.
Safety profile and exposure
Clene reports that across more than 1,000 patient years of CNM-Au8 exposure, treatment has continued to demonstrate a safety profile without significant safety concerns or safety trends identified, and that no serious adverse events have been identified as related to CNM-Au8 treatment by investigators to date. In MS and PD studies, CNM-Au8 treatment was described as safe and well tolerated, with treatment-emergent adverse events characterized as transient and predominantly mild-to-moderate in severity.
Capital markets activity and financing structure
Clene is a publicly traded company that uses a mix of equity and debt financing to support its operations and clinical programs. SEC filings describe several financing arrangements:
- Equity distribution agreement: Clene entered into an equity distribution agreement with a placement agent to offer and sell shares of its common stock up to an aggregate offering price of $25 million, with multiple prospectus supplements filed for additional shares over time.
- Convertible promissory notes: The company issued senior secured convertible promissory notes in December 2024 and subsequently amended their terms in August 2025, extending the maturity date, adjusting the start of monthly principal repayments, and capitalizing future interest with a conversion feature into common stock at a specified price. In August 2025, Clene also entered into an additional note purchase agreement for new senior secured convertible promissory notes with defined interest, maturity, repayment, conversion, and change-of-control provisions.
- Registered direct offering: In January 2026, Clene announced an oversubscribed registered direct offering of over $28 million in common stock and warrants, with multiple warrant series structured to provide potential additional proceeds contingent on regulatory milestones for the CNM-Au8 NDA in ALS and subsequent commercialization efforts.
These financing activities are described by the company as supporting its clinical development, regulatory engagement, and potential commercialization plans for CNM-Au8, particularly in ALS.
Business model and revenue context
Clene identifies itself as a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose primary activities involve the development of investigational therapeutics rather than large-scale commercial product sales. In its financial reporting, the company has disclosed limited product and royalty revenue relative to its research and development and general and administrative expenses, reflecting its focus on clinical development and regulatory preparation.
The company’s business model, as described in its communications, is centered on advancing CNM-Au8 and related programs through clinical trials and regulatory review, supported by external funding from equity offerings, convertible debt, grants, and collaborations. Clene has also disclosed exclusive license and supply agreements for supplement products with a partner, which relate to certain supplement products and royalty revenue, but its primary emphasis in public communications is on pharmaceutical development for neurodegenerative and neurological diseases.
Position within the neurodegenerative disease landscape
Within the broader neurodegenerative disease field, Clene emphasizes biomarker-driven development and the use of bioenergetic and mitochondrial targets. Its ALS program incorporates biomarkers such as NfL, GFAP, and IGFBP7, along with survival analyses, to build a case for potential accelerated approval pathways. In MS and PD, the company highlights measures of brain energy metabolism, such as the NAD+/NADH ratio and brain ATP levels, as indicators of CNM-Au8’s pharmacodynamic effects and potential relevance to disease progression.
Clene’s disclosures underscore the unmet medical needs in ALS, MS, and PD and frame CNM-Au8 as a candidate therapy that may address underlying cellular energy deficits and oxidative stress that contribute to neurodegeneration. The company’s ongoing interactions with the FDA, participation in platform trials and expanded access programs, and presentations at scientific conferences form key elements of its development and communication strategy.
Stock, sector, and corporate classification
Clene Inc. is classified in the pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing industry within the broader manufacturing sector. Its common stock is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol CLNN. The company operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical issuer, with a focus on neurology and neurodegeneration, and reports its activities and material events through periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K.