Immutep's FY2026 loss widens 29.1% after TACTI-004 lung cancer trial is discontinued

Immutep Limited filed its preliminary final report on September 2, 2026 for the year ended 30 June 2026. The loss after tax attributable to owners rose 29.1%, to 79,304,563 from 61,434,165. Revenue from ordinary activities was $14.6 million, and other income was 9,612,077. The company paid no dividend and declared none. It is listed on the ASX as IMM and on Nasdaq as IMMP.

What drove the larger loss

The report says the increase was mainly due to a $30.5 million rise in research and development and intellectual property expenses, largely clinical trial costs. That figure includes a $3.1 million non-cash impairment on the patent intangible for efti. Corporate expenses rose by $935 thousand on higher overhead. Interest income fell from $5.3 million to $3.0 million as cash at bank and short-term investment balances went down.

Revenue included $14.6 million recognised from Dr Reddy's Laboratories under a licensing and collaboration agreement. Under that agreement, Dr Reddy's holds exclusive rights to develop and commercialise efti in the licensed territories, while Immutep keeps its rights in key markets including North America, Europe and Japan. Immutep is also entitled to potential milestone payments of up to US$349.5 million and royalties on net sales in the licensed territories. It keeps the global manufacturing rights to efti.

Net tangible asset backing was 4.1 cents per security, against 9.3 cents a year earlier.

TACTI-004 and the wind-down

In March 2026, after a planned interim futility analysis, an Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommended stopping the TACTI-004 Phase III trial in first-line non-small cell lung cancer. The company accepted that recommendation and began an orderly wind-down of the trial. It is running a root cause analysis. The chairman's letter says management then put cost reduction initiatives in place to preserve capital, while keeping its focus on key programs.

The report describes efti and IMP761 as its main assets. The chairman's letter says IMP761 represents a highly differentiated asset with potential across a range of autoimmune diseases. The report gives the trial's interim data only as the reason for stopping, and it does not set out the futility result itself.

Cash, runway and the going-concern note

The report puts cash, cash equivalents and term deposits at about A$68.9 million as the company enters fiscal 2027. The chairman's letter says the company expects a cash runway well into the first half of calendar 2028. That runway is the company's own estimate.

The financial statements say the directors believe the group can pay its debts as they fall due for at least 12 months after the report was authorised, and that the going-concern basis is appropriate. The same note says that monitoring cash needs involves future funding initiatives, such as business development deals, an out-licensing transaction, capital raising and control of research spending. Those options are named but not committed.

The report names National Australia Bank Ltd as its banker and PricewaterhouseCoopers as its auditor. It names no underwriter, placement agent or financial adviser for any new capital, and no lender for any new debt.

What the report leaves open

The trial was stopped for futility, but the report does not give the interim numbers. The loss rose on higher trial costs, and this year's revenue came from the Dr Reddy's licence, which the report credits with $14.6 million. The cash figure of about A$68.9 million is set against a loss of 79,304,563 in the same year, and the runway depends on spending that the company has said it will hold down. Any further trial news, the root cause analysis and the next funding step all have no dates in the report.

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