UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
Under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
the Month of April 2026
001-36345
(Commission
File Number)
GALMED
PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
c/o
Meitar Law Offices Abba Hillel Silver Rd.,
Ramat
Gan, 5250608
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F ☒ Form 40-F ☐
On
April 14, 2026, Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (the “Company”) issued a press release entitled “Galmed Announces a Collaboration
Agreement with Tel Aviv University to Evaluate its SCD1 inhibitor, Aramchol, as a Targeted Therapy for Metastatic Brain Cancers.”
A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
The
first paragraph of the press release attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into the Company’s
Registration Statements on Form S-8 (Registration Nos. 333-206292, 333-227441, 333-284163, and 333-290399) and the Company’s Registration
Statements on Form F-3 (Registration Nos. 333-272722 and 333-283241).
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
No. |
|
Description |
| |
|
|
| 99.1 |
|
Press Release, dated April 14, 2026. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| |
Galmed
Pharmaceuticals Ltd. |
| |
|
|
| Date:
April 14, 2026 |
By: |
/s/
Allen Baharaff |
| |
|
Allen
Baharaff |
| |
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit
99.1
Galmed
Announces a Collaboration Agreement with Tel Aviv University to Evaluate its SCD1 inhibitor, Aramchol, as a Targeted Therapy for Metastatic
Brain Cancers
| ● | Recently,
Galmed announced breakthrough medicinal chemistry work converting Aramchol into a brain-penetrant
SCD1 inhibitor, potentially positioning Aramchol as a first-in-class therapy for synucleinopathies
and other CNS diseases. |
| ● | Among
CNS unmet conditions, brain metastasis (BM) remains a lethal progression of the primary cancer
in urgent need of novel and effective therapies. Despite multimodal therapies, including
surgical resection, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, individuals with BM have
a poor prognosis, with an overall 2-year survival below 10%. |
| ● | A
recent publication from Tel Aviv University (TAU) identified a causal link between p53 inactivation
and upregulation of SCD1 as essential for the proliferation of brain-metastasizing cells.
The collaboration agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. - TAU’s technology
transfer company - aims to translate these genomic and metabolic insights into a therapeutic
strategy using Aramchol, Galmed’s first-in-class brain-penetrating SCD1 inhibitor. |
Ramat-Gan,
Israel, April 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLMD) (“Galmed” or the “Company”),
a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company for liver disease and GI oncological therapeutics, announced today a research collaboration
agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University - Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company - to evaluate Galmed’s brain-penetrating
SCD1 inhibitor, Aramchol, as a targeted therapy for metastatic brain cancer. By combining the genomic expertise of the Ben-David Lab
with the advanced 3D in vitro and in vivo modeling capabilities of the Satchi-Fainaro Lab (both TAU internationally renowned research
labs), Galmed aims to validate Aramchol’s efficacy in treating p53-deficient brain metastases. The findings from the new research
would also support Galmed’s clinical work underway at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
in colorectal cancers, where p53 mutations are highly prevalent.
The
published research by Prof. Ben-David and Prof. Satchi-Fainaro demonstrated that the loss of p53 induces profound metabolic adaptations
of the tumor, facilitating metastatic colonization in the lipid-rich brain microenvironment. SCD1, an enzyme that converts saturated
fatty acids into monounsaturated fatty acids, is essential for lipid synthesis and membrane production in proliferating cancer cells.
Owing to SCD1 upregulation in p53-deficient tumors, its downregulation by Aramchol could potentially treat the metabolic-dependent brain
tumor, as confirmed in preclinical models.
Allen
Baharaff, Galmed’s Co-founder and CEO commented: “p53 is widely known as the ‘guardian of the genome’, playing
a critical role in maintaining cellular integrity, with its mutations often leading to cancer and metastases. The findings that p53 inactivation
drives metastasis to the brain through SCD1 upregulation and increased fatty acid metabolism open up a promising and innovative therapeutic
option for Aramchol in metastatic cancers. Today’s announced collaboration with the esteemed researchers at TAU maps a potential
development path for Aramchol as a novel and effective therapeutic solution for one of the most challenging clinical conditions.”
Prof.
Uri Ben-David commented: “A major hurdle in treating brain metastases is understanding how cancer cells adapt to survive in the
brain’s unique environment. We recently established that p53 inactivation drives this adaptation through SCD1 upregulation and
altered fatty acid metabolism. Collaborating with Galmed enables us to apply Aramchol against SCD1-expressing brain metastases, taking
a critical step toward an innovative therapeutic solution for metastatic brain cancer.”
Prof.
Ronit Satchi-Fainaro commented:” I am very enthusiastic about this collaboration with Galmed Pharmaceuticals to evaluate Aramchol
in our advanced preclinical systems. Following our recent findings published in Nature Genetics on the role of p53 and SCD1 in breast
cancer brain metastasis, this partnership represents a valuable opportunity to translate mechanistic insights into therapeutic strategies.
Our 3D tumor models and spontaneous brain metastasis models closely recapitulate tumor complexity and metastatic progression in the clinical
setting, providing a robust, predictive platform to assess Aramchol’s efficacy and mechanism of action. I believe these models
can significantly strengthen the preclinical validation of the drug and support its development in this challenging clinical setting”.
The
collaboration is managed by Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company. Ramot is dedicated to bringing the groundbreaking
research of Prof. Uri Ben-David and Prof. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro to the clinic. Their work on the metabolic vulnerabilities of p53-deficient
tumors represents a transformative approach to treating metastatic brain cancer, offering a new path for patients with high unmet needs.
About
Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd.:
We
are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of Aramchol. We have focused almost exclusively on developing Aramchol for
the treatment of liver disease, and we are currently seeking to advance the development of Aramchol for oncological indications beyond
NASH and fibrosis. In addition, as part of our growth strategy, we are actively pursuing opportunities to expand and diversify our product
pipeline, specifically targeting cardiometabolic indications and other innovative product candidates that align with our core expertise
in drug development.
About
Ramot
Ramot
is the Technology Transfer Company of Tel Aviv University, dedicated to transforming pioneering research from university researchers
into market-ready products. By scaling up these innovative technologies and integrating them with industry expertise, Ramot fosters strategic
partnerships that turn groundbreaking discoveries into global impact.
www.ramot.org
Forward-Looking
Statements:
Forward-looking
statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking
statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the development path for Aramchol as a novel and effective therapeutic
solution. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated
in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the development and approval of the use of Aramchol or any other product
candidate for indications outside of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis,
or MASH, and fibrosis or in combination therapy; the timing and cost of any pre-clinical or clinical trials of Aramchol or any other
product candidate we develop; completion and receiving favorable results of any pre-clinical or clinical trial; regulatory action with
respect to Aramchol or any other product candidate by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, or the European Medicines Authority,
or EMA, including but not limited to acceptance of an application for marketing authorization, review and approval of such application,
and, if approved, the scope of the approved indication and labeling; the commercial launch and future sales of Aramchol and any future
product candidates; our ability to comply with all applicable post-market regulatory requirements for Aramchol, or any other product
candidate in the countries in which we seek to market the product; our ability to achieve favorable pricing for Aramchol, or any other
product candidate; third-party payor reimbursement for Aramchol, or any other product candidate; our estimates regarding anticipated
capital requirements and our needs for additional financing; market adoption of Aramchol or any other product candidate by physicians
and patients; the timing, cost or other aspects of the commercial launch of Aramchol or any other product candidate; our ability to obtain
and maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property; the possibility that we may face third-party claims of intellectual property
infringement; our ability to manufacture our product candidates in commercial quantities, at an adequate quality or at an acceptable
cost; our ability to establish adequate sales, marketing and distribution channels; intense competition in our industry, with competitors
having substantially greater financial, technological, research and development, regulatory and clinical, manufacturing, marketing and
sales, distribution and personnel resources than we do; our expectations regarding licensing, acquisitions and strategic operations;
current or future unfavorable economic and market conditions and adverse developments with respect to financial institutions and associated
liquidity risk; our ability to maintain the listing of our ordinary shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market; and the security, political
and economic instability in the Middle East that could harm our business, including due to the current security situation in Israel.
We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, these statements are only current predictions and are subject to
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. We discuss many of these
risks in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2026 in greater detail
under the heading “Risk Factors.” Given these uncertainties, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions
of future events. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf speak only as of the date hereof
and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this report. We undertake no obligations to update
or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events. In evaluating forward-looking statements, you should consider these risks and uncertainties.
CONTACT:
Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; investor.relations@galmedpharma.com +972-3-693-8448
