NextCure Raises $75 Million in IPO to Advance Next-Generation Immuno-Oncology Therapies

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that biopharmaceutical company NextCure recently completed a $75 million initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Stock Market, excluding any additional shares purchased by the underwriters. The company issued 5 million ordinary shares at an offering price of $15 per share, trading under the ticker symbol NXTC. Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Piper Jaffray served as joint book-running managers for the offering.

According to Crunchbase, NextCure completed its Series A and Series B financing rounds in 2016 and 2018, raising $6.7 million and $93 million, respectively.

NextCure, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland, USA, is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. The company is committed to bringing new hope and therapeutic options to cancer patients who do not respond to existing treatments. NextCure was founded by Dr. Lieping Chen, Professor of Immunobiology and Dermatology at Yale University. A pioneer in immuno-oncology, Dr. Chen and his team have identified numerous novel immune-related targets. Notably, Dr. Chen was the first to discover and clone the immunosuppressive function of PD-L1 (B7-H1) and subsequently elucidated the mechanism by which the PD-1/B7-H1 pathway regulates immune responses.

NextCure’s FIND-IO™ platform identifies novel cell-surface molecular interactions through functional immunological studies, which can drive functional immune responses. NextCure’s proprietary approach enables functional assessment of immune pathways in primary immune cells. The platform has established cell lines from both immune and non-immune lineages, including T cells, NK cells, macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), dendritic cells, and cancer cells.

Currently, NextCure has identified several immunomodulators derived from myeloid cells and T cells. Building on these findings, NextCure is developing therapies to restore anti-tumor activity by intervening in and modulating immune cell interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Among these, NC318, an antibody drug targeting Siglec-15 (S15), has entered Phase 1/2 clinical trials. Furthermore, NextCure is leveraging the functional screening capabilities of its FIND-IO™ technology platform to identify new targets in other therapeutic areas, including autoimmunity and neurology, with the aim of expanding next-generation immunotherapies beyond oncology.

NC318 is an anti-S15 antibody. S15 is a novel immune-modulatory target expressed on a limited subset of myeloid cells within the tumor microenvironment and on certain types of tumor cells, including those in lung, ovarian, and head and neck cancers. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that S15 promotes the survival and differentiation of immunosuppressive myeloid cells and negatively regulates T-cell function, thereby facilitating cancer growth. NC318 blocks S15, reducing immunosuppression and normalizing immune responses. Research indicates that S15 modulates immunosuppression independently of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway; therefore, NC318 may hold therapeutic potential for patients with PD-L1-negative tumors.

(Compiled by Song Chenchen)