aibioAlaunos sells $1,120,000 of stock and warrants in registered direct offering
Tickers TCRT
Dawson James Securities is sole placement agent for the offering, priced at $1.46 per share under Nasdaq at-the-market rules.
Key facts
- Company
- Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCRT)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. 8-K (2026-09-22)
Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. announced on September 18, 2026, that it entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors for a registered direct offering. The offering covers 380,469 shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants to buy up to 386,654 shares. The price is $1.46 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $1,120,000, before placement agent fees and offering expenses. The offering was priced at the market under Nasdaq rules. The release says the offering is made only by means of a written prospectus, and that copies of the prospectus supplement may be obtained from Dawson James Securities.
The offering is expected to close on or about September 21, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The company intends to use the net proceeds primarily for general working capital and corporate purposes.
Placement agent and shelf registration
Dawson James Securities, Inc. is acting as sole placement agent for the offering. The release does not name legal counsel for the company or for the placement agent.
The securities are offered under an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3, File No. 333-289748. The shelf became effective on December 1, 2025. A prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC.
About the company
Alaunos describes itself as a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on orally administered small-molecule therapeutics for obesity and related metabolic disorders, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. Its lead program, ALN1003, is an oral small molecule that the company describes as a non-hormonal, non-incretin approach, unlike hormone-based GLP-1 treatments. The company previously worked on adoptive TCR-T cell therapies for cancer.
The 10-K says the program aims for a differentiated, non-hormonal approach, unlike hormone-based treatments such as GLP-1 drugs. It notes that other obesity pipeline therapies explore amylin or dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonism. On March 2, 2026, the company announced positive preclinical proof-of-concept data for ALN1003 from two studies in male C57BL/6 mice on a high-fat diet, with 60% of calories from fat.
In two mouse studies on a high-fat diet, the company reported dose-dependent body weight loss and reduced liver weight. In the first study, mean body weight change peaked at -12.9% relative to diet-induced obesity controls, and liver weight was reduced by 43% compared with untreated mice. The company says those p-values are nominal and unadjusted for multiple comparisons. The 10-K says the first study used 12 mice per group. In a second 14-day study with three dose levels, the highest dose lowered blood sugar to 197 mg/dL, against 320 mg/dL in controls, and cumulative food consumption fell in a dose-dependent manner.
Financial position
The company reported a net loss of $4.2 million for 2025 and an accumulated deficit of $924.6 million as of December 31, 2025. Research and development expense was $1.4 million in 2025, up from $362,000 in 2024. Cash used in operations was $2.9 million in 2025. Cash and cash equivalents were $124,000 at June 30, 2026, according to its quarterly report.
The 10-K says the company has not generated any product revenue and has incurred significant net losses in each year since its inception. The company says it expects to keep incurring substantial operating losses and will need significant additional capital to fund operations and advance its programs.
What the raise and the data do not settle
The $1,120,000 is small against an accumulated deficit of $924.6 million, and the company had $124,000 of cash at June 30, 2026. Part of the offering is pre-funded warrants, and the new shares and warrants add to the share count for existing holders. The release does not say how long the money will last. The science is also early. ALN1003 has been tested only in mice on a high-fat diet, the company calls the p-values nominal, and no human data exist. The company would still need to start clinical trials, pay for them and show safety and weight loss against other obesity drugs in development. It also dropped its earlier cell therapy work, so the obesity program now carries the whole business.