aibioBolt Biotherapeutics reports second-quarter results and cash into 2027
Tickers BOLT
The company had $18.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities on June 30, 2026. It expects to report initial clinical data from its lead antibody conjugate, BDC-4182, with its third-quarter results.
Key facts
- Company
- Bolt Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOLT)
- News type
- Company Updates
- Primary source
- Bolt Biotherapeutics press release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
Bolt Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BOLT) reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 on August 11, 2026, and gave a business update. The company said cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $18.1 million at June 30, 2026, which it expects to fund operations into the first quarter of 2027.
The lead program
Bolt describes itself as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer.
Its lead program is BDC-4182, a next-generation Boltbody immune-stimulating antibody conjugate, or ISAC, that targets claudin 18.2. The release describes claudin 18.2 as a clinically validated target with expression in gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, pancreatic cancer and other tumor types.
In preclinical models, including cancer models with low claudin 18.2 expression, the release says BDC-4182 demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity, induced immunological memory and outperformed cytotoxic ADCs.
The company says BDC-4182 is in a Phase 1/2 study in patients with gastric and gastroesophageal cancer. Patients are now being treated in Cohort 4, at the 4.0 mg/kg dose level. Chief Executive Officer Willie Quinn said BDC-4182 has been well tolerated to date and that the company is seeing activity consistent with its immune-stimulating mechanism. He also said: "We expect to report initial clinical data from BDC-4182 with our third quarter 2026 results."
Bolt has implemented step-up dosing, which the release says has been used commercially for T-cell engagers, as a way to reach higher doses safely.
The rest of the pipeline is on hold. That includes BDC-3042, a Dectin-2 agonist that completed a first-in-human Phase 1 dose escalation trial, and preclinical ISAC programs targeting CEA and PD-L1. The company has strategic collaborations with Genmab and Toray built around its ISAC platform technology.
Second-quarter financial results
Collaboration revenue was $5,000 for the quarter, compared with $1.8 million a year earlier. The release says the prior-year revenue came from services performed under the R&D collaborations as the company fulfilled its performance obligations.
Research and development expenses were $5.1 million, down from $7.5 million. The release attributes the decrease mainly to lower salary and related expenses following the company's restructuring, along with lower overall research and development activity. General and administrative expenses were $2.4 million, compared with $3.5 million, mainly because of lower salary costs and lower consulting expenses.
Loss from operations was $8.4 million for the quarter, compared with $9.2 million in the same quarter of 2025.
Full-year context
The 10-K filed March 12, 2026 reports 2025 revenue of $7.7 million, research and development expense of $28.5 million and a net loss of $33.4 million. For 2024, research and development expense was $57.5 million and the net loss was $63.1 million. Cash used in operations was $39.9 million in 2025 and $61.3 million in 2024.
What the update does not show
The release offers no clinical numbers. That the drug is well tolerated and shows activity consistent with its mechanism is the CEO's description, with no response rates, no patient counts and no safety events given. The performance claims, including that BDC-4182 outperformed cytotoxic ADCs, come from preclinical models. Bolt expects to report initial clinical data with its third-quarter 2026 results, and the study is still in dose escalation, so those data may be limited.
The financial picture is thin. Cash of $18.1 million is expected to fund operations only into the first quarter of 2027, a short runway after the data are due, and Bolt used $39.9 million of cash in operations in 2025. Collaboration revenue has fallen to $5,000 from $1.8 million. The spending cuts that lowered R&D and G&A came from a restructuring, and the rest of the pipeline is on hold. The release does not say how the company plans to fund operations beyond the first quarter of 2027.