Beltsville, Md. | November 12, 2025
Clinical-stage biotech NextCure (Nasdaq: NXTC), headquartered in Beltsville, announced today that it has secured $21.5 million through a private placement of common stock priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.
The financing included participation from a group of institutional and healthcare-focused investors — Ikarian Capital, Squadron Capital Management, Affinity Healthcare Fund, LP, and Exome Asset Management, among others. H.C. Wainwright & Co. served as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.
Fueling NextCure’s Pipeline and Extending Cash Runway
NextCure plans to use the proceeds to support general working capital needs and to extend its cash runway into the first half of 2027. This added financial flexibility positions the company to reach key proof-of-concept data readouts in 2026 for its two lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs:
- SIM0505 (CDH6 ADC)
- LNCB74 (B7-H4 ADC)
Both programs are designed to target cancers that have progressed despite existing treatments — a core focus of NextCure’s mission to develop innovative therapies for patients unresponsive to current drugs.
Strategic Collaboration Adds Global Reach
Fueling their momentum, just a few months ago NextCure also entered into a strategic partnership with Simcere Zaiming (a subsidiary of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group) earlier this year to develop SIM0505. Under the deal:
- Simcere Zaiming retains Greater China rights, while NextCure holds global rights excluding Greater China. i
- U.S. trial enrollment has already begun, following prior dose escalation in China, with First U.S. patient dosed in October 2025.
- The partnership underscores NextCure’s expansion into Asia-Pacific collaboration and adds regional relevance for Maryland’s biotech ecosystem.
This alliance strengthens NextCure’s global development strategy, signaling that its Beltsville base is participating in international oncology innovation. For the Maryland life-science cluster, it highlights locally-based companies engaging globally — an encouraging signal for talent, investment, and partnership opportunities.
A Maryland Biotech Driving Momentum
Based in Beltsville, Maryland, NextCure represents one of the region’s oncology-innovator anchors, leveraging insights into tumor microenvironment biology to inform next-generation therapeutic strategies. The combination of fundraising success and strategic partnerships reflects growing investor and collaborative interest in mid-Atlantic biotech, especially companies with clinical-stage oncology assets.
About NextCure
NextCure is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is focused on advancing innovative medicines that treat cancer patients that do not respond to, or have disease progression on, current therapies, through the use of targeted therapies including antibody-drug conjugates. We focus on advancing therapies that leverage our core strengths in understanding biological pathways and biomarkers, the interactions of cells, including in the tumor microenvironment, and the role each interaction plays in a biologic response. Please visit www.nextcure.com for more information. Learn more at www.nextcure.com.
Source: NextCure, Inc. (GlobeNewswire, Nov. 12, 2025)
For investor inquiries: Timothy Mayer, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer | IR@nextcure.com
