aibioKeros Therapeutics authorizes $5 million share buyback after $20 million Takeda milestone
Tickers KROS
The board approved the program after Keros received a development milestone payment under its elritercept license with Takeda. The program does not oblige Keros to buy any shares.
Key facts
- Company
- Keros Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KROS)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Keros Therapeutics, Inc. 8-K (2026-09-08)
The authorization and its limits
Keros Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: KROS) said on September 8, 2026 that its board had approved a $5 million share repurchase program. The board acted after Keros received a $20 million development milestone payment under its elritercept license with Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. The release ties that payment to the dosing of the first patient in the ELRiSE MDS clinical trial.
The approval lets management repurchase common stock from time to time, in the open market or by other means allowed under state and federal securities laws. The release says the timing and amount will depend on the stock price, market and economic conditions, contractual limitations and other considerations. The program may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time, and it does not obligate Keros to buy any dollar amount or number of shares. The release does not say whether any shares have been bought, and it names no bank, broker or adviser for the program.
A milestone with a different trial name
The annual report for 2025, filed March 4, 2026, describes a different milestone. It says the first patient was dosed in the placebo-controlled Phase 3 RENEW trial in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes in July 2025, and that this triggered a $10 million milestone under the Takeda license. The release names the ELRiSE MDS trial and a $20 million payment. The two documents do not say whether these are separate trials or separate payments, and the release does not mention RENEW.
The lead candidate is rinvatercept, also written KER-065. The annual report says it was being developed for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and that initial topline results from a Phase 1 trial in healthy adult volunteers were announced in March 2025. It expected to start a Phase 2 trial in Duchenne patients in the second quarter of 2026 and planned to talk to regulators about a Phase 2 design for ALS in the second half of 2026. The release does not say whether the Duchenne study has started, and the release does not mention the ALS plans.
Elritercept, the most advanced candidate, is an engineered ligand trap for anemia and thrombocytopenia in myelodysplastic syndromes and myelofibrosis. The Takeda license for it became effective on January 16, 2025, for all territories outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Cash, earnings and the size of the buyback
The company's financial data show a sharp swing in 2025. Revenue was $243.9 million in 2025, against zero in 2024. The company reported net income of $87.0 million for 2025 after a net loss of $187.4 million for 2024. Research and development expense fell from $173.6 million to $129.6 million. Cash provided by operations was $107.5 million in 2025, after $160.9 million of cash used in operations in 2024. The filing figures do not break down the revenue by source.
Year-end cash and cash equivalents fell from $559.9 million at the end of 2024 to $287.4 million at the end of 2025. The company reported $257.6 million at June 30, 2026, according to its quarterly report. Cash fell over 2025 even though operations provided cash that year, and the filing figures here do not say why. The $5 million authorization is small next to those balances.
The release lists several risks. They include Keros's limited operating history and historical losses, its need to raise additional funding, its dependence on rinvatercept and elritercept, competition from other developers, and the possibility that trials are delayed. The release also says the buyback could face market, regulatory and contractual limits.