Tvardi Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TVRD) narrows Q1 loss and targets 2026 STAT3 trial readouts
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc. reported first quarter 2026 results and highlighted upcoming clinical milestones. Research and development expenses rose to $4.9 million from $3.1 million a year earlier, mainly from higher costs for next-generation STAT3 inhibitor TTI-109, partly offset by lower spending on TTI-101.
General and administrative expenses increased to $2.1 million from $1.2 million, driven by higher personnel, stock-based compensation and public-company costs. Net loss narrowed to $6.8 million from $9.6 million, with net loss per share improving to $(0.73) from $(3.72).
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $25.0 million as of March 31, 2026, down from $30.8 million at year-end 2025. Tvardi expects this cash to fund operations through key clinical readouts and into the fourth quarter of 2026, including June topline data for TTI-109 and second-half 2026 topline data from the Phase 2 REVERT LIVER CANCER trial of TTI-101.
Positive
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Negative
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Insights
Tvardi extends runway through multiple 2026 data readouts while managing higher R&D spend.
Tvardi Therapeutics is clearly prioritizing pipeline progress. R&D expenses of $4.9M for the quarter, up from $3.1M, reflect heavier investment in next‑generation STAT3 inhibitor TTI-109 as TTI-101 clinical costs moderate.
Despite higher operating expenses, quarterly net loss narrowed to $6.8M from $9.6M, helped by the absence of prior-year other expense. With $25.0M in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2026, management believes it can fund operations through planned clinical readouts and into Q4 2026.
The near-term focus is on topline results for TTI-109 in healthy volunteers expected in June 2026 and Phase 2 REVERT LIVER CANCER topline data in the second half of 2026. Actual impact on the company’s outlook will depend on the strength and safety profile of those datasets once disclosed.
8-K Event Classification
Key Figures
Key Terms
STAT3 inhibitor medical
hepatocellular carcinoma medical
Phase 2 trial medical
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company financial
short-term investments financial
cash runway financial
Earnings Snapshot
Tvardi anticipates its current cash runway will fund operations, as currently planned, through clinical readouts and into the fourth quarter of 2026.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On May 8, 2026, Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing its financial results and business highlights for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2026. A copy of the Company’s press release dated May 8, 2026 is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
The information contained herein and the accompanying Exhibit 99.1 is being furnished under “Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition” and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section or Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made by us, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 99.1 | Press release issued on May 8, 2026. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| TVARDI THERAPEUTICS, INC. | ||
| Date: May 8, 2026 | By: | /s/ Imran Alibhai |
| Name: | Imran Alibhai | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
Exhibit 99.1
Tvardi Therapeutics Announces First Quarter 2026 Results and Provides Business Update
Topline results from healthy volunteer study and clinical development strategy for next-generation STAT3 inhibitor, TTI-109, anticipated in June
Topline data from Phase 2 trial of TTI-101 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on track for 2H 2026
Cash runway expected to be sufficient to fund operations through clinical readouts and into Q4 2026
HOUSTON, TX – May 8, 2026 - Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc. (“Tvardi”) (NASDAQ: TVRD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, oral, small molecule therapies targeting STAT3 to treat inflammatory and proliferative diseases, today reported its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, and provided a business update.
Recent Progress and Upcoming Catalysts:
| · | TTI-109 (Healthy Volunteer Study): Study ongoing with topline data anticipated in June 2026. The Company plans to announce the clinical development strategy based on these results. |
| · | TTI-101 (HCC – REVERT LIVER CANCER study): Phase 1b/2 trial remains on track to report topline results in 2H 2026. |
| · | TTI-101 (IPF – REVERT IPF study additional analyses): Phase 2 trial showed that TTI-101 was associated with a 9.4% baseline-weighted reduction in fibrosis score compared to 2.4% for placebo. Treatment with TTI-101 was also associated with a 4.5-fold greater decline in IL-6, a central STAT3-driven inflammatory cytokine. |
Imran Alibhai, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Tvardi, stated, “We are approaching a key inflection point with topline data from our next-generation STAT3 inhibitor, TTI-109, expected in June. These results are expected to inform our future clinical development strategy.”
“TTI-109 is designed to build on the preclinical and clinical activity observed with TTI-101 while potentially offering improved tolerability through its prodrug profile and enabling broader development across inflammatory and proliferative diseases driven by STAT3.”
“In parallel, we remain on track to report topline data from our ongoing Phase 2 REVERT LIVER CANCER trial in the second half of this year. Prior interim findings demonstrated clinically meaningful activity across treatment settings, and we look forward to evaluating the full dataset.”
“We continue to make significant progress advancing both programs, providing line of sight to two near-term value inflection points,” Dr. Alibhai concluded.
Key Upcoming Milestones:
| · | June 2026: TTI-109 Phase 1 healthy volunteer topline data and clinical development strategy |
| · | 2H 2026: TTI-101 Phase 1b/2 HCC topline data |
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2026, were $4.9 million as compared to $3.1 million for the comparable period in 2025. The increase was primarily driven by higher TTI-109 developmental costs, partly offset by declining clinical costs associated with TTI-101.
General and administrative expenses were $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, as compared to $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The increase was primarily driven by higher personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, and professional fees, including costs associated with being a publicly traded company.
Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2026, was $6.8 million, as compared to a net loss of $9.6 million for the comparable period in 2025.
Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common shareholders for the three months ended March 31, 2026, were a net loss of $(0.73), compared to a net loss of $(3.72) for the comparable period in 2025.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2026, were $25.0 million, as compared to $30.8 million as of December 31, 2025. Tvardi anticipates that its current cash runway is sufficient to fund operations, as currently planned, through clinical readouts and into the fourth quarter of 2026.
About Tvardi Therapeutics
Tvardi is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, oral small molecule therapies targeting STAT3 to treat inflammatory and proliferative diseases with significant unmet need. STAT3 is a central mediator across critical signaling pathways that drive uncontrolled, proliferation, survival and immune dysregulation. STAT3 is also positioned at the intersection of many signaling pathways integral to the survival and immune evasion of cancer cells. The company is conducting clinical trials with TTI-109 in healthy volunteers and TTI-101 in hepatocellular carcinoma (NCT05440708). To learn more, please visit tvarditherapeutics.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of these forward-looking statements include statements concerning the anticipated benefits of Tvardi’s product candidates; its ongoing clinical trials and anticipated timing of reporting data from such trials; potential indications for its product candidates; its anticipated cash runway; and other statements regarding management’s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or forecasts for the future, and, therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.
Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward- looking statements are subject to a number of risks, including, among other things: the uncertainties associated with Tvardi’s product candidates, as well as risks associated with the clinical development and regulatory approval of product candidates, including potential delays in the completion of clinical trials; the significant net losses Tvardi has incurred since inception; Tvardi’s ability to initiate and complete ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials and advance its product candidates through clinical development; the timing of the availability of data from Tvardi’s clinical trials; the outcome of preclinical testing and clinical trials of the Tvardi’s product candidates, including the ability of those trials to satisfy relevant governmental or regulatory requirements; Tvardi’s plans to research, develop and commercialize its current and future product candidates; the clinical utility, potential benefits and market acceptance of Tvardi’s product candidates; the requirement for additional capital to continue to advance these product candidates, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all; Tvardi’s anticipated cash runway; Tvardi’s ability to attract, hire, and retain skilled executive officers and employees; Tvardi’s ability to protect its intellectual property and proprietary technologies; Tvardi’s reliance on third parties, contract manufacturers, and contract research organizations; the possibility that Tvardi may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; risks associated with changes in applicable laws or regulations; those factors discussed in Tvardi’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and Tvardi’s other documents subsequently filed with or furnished to the SEC, all of which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. The company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.
Contacts:
For Tvardi:
Tvardi Investor Relations
ir@tvardi.com
PJ Kelleher
LifeSci Advisors
617-430-7579
pkelleher@lifesciadvisors.com
TVARDI THERAPEUTICS
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited)
| As of March 31, | As of December 31, | |||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | |||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 19,851 | $ | 20,734 | ||||
| Short-term investments | 5,130 | 10,077 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 345 | 727 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 25,326 | 31,538 | ||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 44 | 52 | ||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 306 | 322 | ||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 124 | 144 | ||||||
| Other non-current assets | 17 | 17 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 25,817 | $ | 32,073 | ||||
| Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | ||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 4,620 | $ | 3,219 | ||||
| Accrued expenses | 6,518 | 7,707 | ||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current portion | 120 | 116 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 11,258 | 11,042 | ||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion | 54 | 85 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 11,312 | 11,127 | ||||||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 12) | ||||||||
| Stockholders' Equity: | ||||||||
| Common stock, $0.001 par value; 150,000,000 shares authorized as of March 31,2026 and December 31,2025; 9,381,344 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31,2026 and December 31,2025 | 9 | 9 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 131,749 | 131,379 | ||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 1 | 8 | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (117,254 | ) | (110,450 | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders' equity | 14,505 | 20,946 | ||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 25,817 | $ | 32,073 | ||||
TVARDI THERAPEUTICS
Consolidated Statement of Operations
(unaudited)
| For the Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | |||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 4,911 | $ | 3,111 | ||||
| General and administrative | 2,140 | 1,243 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 7,051 | 4,354 | ||||||
| Loss from operations | (7,051 | ) | (4,354 | ) | ||||
| Interest income | 247 | 275 | ||||||
| Other expense | — | (5,500 | ) | |||||
| Net loss | $ | (6,804 | ) | $ | (9,579 | ) | ||
| Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted | $ | (0.73 | ) | $ | (3.72 | ) | ||
| Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted | 9,381,344 | 2,575,462 | ||||||
| Comprehensive loss: | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (6,804 | ) | $ | (9,579 | ) | ||
| Unrealized (loss) gain on short-term investments | (7 | ) | 2 | |||||
| Comprehensive loss | $ | (6,811 | ) | $ | (9,577 | ) | ||