Biotech bank balances were again in focus Monday morning, with Tango Therapeutics cutting preclinical work to stretch its cash runway and Avalo Therapeutics outlining options for preserving its money.
Tango extended its cash runway from the third quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2027 by narrowing its focus. The biotech said the extension “was primarily due to reduction of preclinical pipeline, target discovery efforts and the associated research headcount.” Tango’s deferral of clinical combination studies to assess tolerability of TNG462 with standard-of-care agents was another factor.
The changes cement the importance of TNG462 to the company’s prospects. Tango is testing the PRMT5 inhibitor in a phase 1/2 trial that is due to deliver data in the second half of the year. The biotech plans to use the data to inform a registrational trial in pancreatic cancer, which is slated for next year, and to guide the next steps in non-small cell lung cancer.
Tango is set to start enrolling patients in a combination trial this quarter. The study will assess TNG462 along with Revolution Medicines’ RAS(ON) inhibitors daraxonrasib and zoldonrasib. Tango said it is moving the combination into human testing on the strength of “promising” preclinical data.
Avalo set out ways it could extend its cash runway without pulling the trigger on the plans. For now, the biotech’s cash runway is still set to run into 2027, but Avalo told investors it could potentially last into 2028.
“Given the current environment, the company is carefully evaluating the optimal timing for pursuing additional development activities beyond the Lotus trial, such as the initiation of a second indication, to preserve capital until markets stabilize,” Avalo CEO Garry Neil, M.D., said in a statement.
The Lotus trial is assessing the anti-IL-1β antibody AVTX-009 in hidradenitis suppurativa. Avalo has the cash to fund operations beyond the anticipated delivery of top-line Lotus data in 2026. The biotech plans to announce work on AVTX-009 in a second immune-mediated disease, but the timing of development in that indication will depend on funding.