aibioLantern Pharma closes registered direct offering with about $4.0 million in gross proceeds
Tickers LTRN
Lantern sold 1,469,725 shares at $1.09 each plus pre-funded warrants for up to 2,200,000 shares. A concurrent private placement of warrants for up to 3,669,725 shares needs stockholder approval before exercise.
Key facts
- Company
- Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Lantern Pharma Inc. Form 8-K filed September 30, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
Lantern Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: LTRN) closed a registered direct offering on September 30, 2026 and received gross proceeds of about $4.0 million, before offering expenses, including the placement agent's fees. It had agreed on September 28 to sell 1,469,725 common shares at $1.09 each to an institutional investor, plus pre-funded warrants for up to 2,200,000 shares. The company disclosed the deal in a Form 8-K filed September 30, 2026 under Items 1.01 and 3.02. David Margrave, its chief financial officer, signed the filing. Lantern says it will use the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The concurrent warrants
In a concurrent private placement, Lantern issued the same investor warrants to buy up to 3,669,725 shares at $1.09 a share. They cannot be exercised until stockholders approve the issuance of the underlying shares, and they expire five years after that approval.
A holder cannot exercise a warrant if that would leave it owning more than 4.99% of the outstanding common stock, or 9.99% if the holder elects that higher cap. Lantern agreed to seek stockholder approval within 90 days of September 28, 2026, at its next annual or special meeting. If the first meeting does not approve the issuance, it must call a meeting every 90 days after that until approval is obtained or the warrants are no longer outstanding.
The press release says that if the warrants were fully exercised for cash, they would bring in about another $4 million. It adds that no assurance can be given that any warrant will be exercised.
The placement agent and the fees
Rodman & Renshaw, LLC was the sole placement agent under an engagement letter dated September 28, 2026. Lantern paid it a cash fee of 7% of the gross proceeds and reimbursed certain expenses and legal fees. It also issued placement agent warrants covering 5% of the shares sold, at an exercise price of $1.3625 a share, which the 8-K says is 125% of the purchase price. Those warrants expire on the fifth anniversary of stockholder approval. Lantern also agreed to pay the agent a cash fee of 3.0% of the gross exercise price of any concurrent warrants exercised for cash.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP gave the legal opinion on the common shares, pre-funded warrants and warrant shares, filed as Exhibit 5.1. The 8-K names no counsel for the investor.
The going concern warning
The annual report for 2025, filed March 30, 2026, says the auditor's report states that substantial doubt exists about Lantern's ability to continue as a going concern without substantial additional funding. The report says the company expects to keep incurring losses and negative operating cash flows.
Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $15,677,000 in 2025, down from approximately $17,813,000 in 2024. Financing cash inflow in 2025 was approximately $1,498,000, which the report attributes mainly to common stock sold under an at-the-market sales agreement with ThinkEquity LLC. This offering raised about $4.0 million gross.
The company says it plans further capital raises, including sales under the at-the-market program, but that it cannot guarantee funding will be available when needed.
What the money is for
The annual report describes a pipeline centered on central nervous system and brain cancers, an antibody-drug conjugate program, and its RADR artificial intelligence platform for oncology. The 8-K does not describe the programs the proceeds are meant to advance, or how long the money will last at the 2025 spending rate.