20 Things You Didn’t Know about NextCure

Nextcure

Research on the cure of cancer and other serious diseases has become the order of the day with several organizations and individuals investing a lot of time and resources in making it a success. NextCure is a biopharmaceutical company that is also working on getting the best immune drugs. The company is formed by a group of researchers who make use of their knowledge to develop vaccines and other drugs. It works closely with other companies that assist in funding and the supply of labor as well as other resources. The firm has been in operation for nearly four years and has both internal and external stakeholders that assist it in achieving its goals. Get to know more about the company by looking at these facts.

1. Dr. Lieping Chen founded it

The founder of NextCure is Dr. Lieping Chen, a scientist focusing on the cells. Most of the operations in the company are run depending on the scientific research that was conducted by him. He became the CEO of the company upon forming it. NextCure has leaders and investors that assist in building the company, and it also works closely with Yale University to provide some research used by the company.

2. It was founded in 2015

NextCure, based in Beltsville, was founded in September 2015 by Lieping Chen and Michael Richman. The candidates of the company get licensing from Dr. Chen, who owns a laboratory offering research services. The scientist works in Dr. Chen’s laboratory, and the company is free to sponsor them and hire them. Dr. Chen contributes immensely to the development of NextCure. His excellent work in 2014 got him an award for developing immunology for tumor cells. Due to his expertise, the company makes use of some of the drugs that were developed by Dr. Chen.

3. It has a net worth of $0.8 billion

NextCure has a net worth of $800 million, which is based on the price of the current stock multiplied by the outstanding shares of NextCure. Despite the losses that the company has made over the years, it still has a good stock market. The price of the shares is currently at $36.76.

4. The CEO of NextCure won the prize for the Warren Alpert Foundation

The CEO of the company won an award for a discovery he made in cancer immunology in June 2017. He was among the five pioneers honored by Warren Alpert Foundation for their excellent work in cancer immunology. The five pioneers shared a $500,000 prize that got recognition later in Harvard School of Medicine. The superb job of the CEO was a sign that the future was bright for the company.

5. It discovers and develops immune medicine

NextCure is in charge of developing an immunity to cancer and other diseases that affect the immune system. They focus on knowing the interaction of the cells to assist in understanding what the communication plays in the immune response. Through the discovery of the interaction, they then study the specific immune cells and understand their structures to develop the medicines that will provide immunity. Cancer is the primary disease for which they are developing an immune drug. They focus on the patients that do not respond positively to the existing therapies. There is hope since the treatments that they have designed to target the immune response to cancer worked for many patients that used their drugs. It ensures the public has access to its medications by availing to them upon manufacture.

6. NextCure brings innovation in cancer immunology

In an attempt to bring immunity to cancer, NextCure attracts all ideas that may be useful in the process. It is making use of technology to understand the structure of the cells. The knowledge from the various parties is helpful to the company in developing the anti-tumor medicine that is tested to derive the best. The space for innovation is an excellent strategy for the company since it gets various ideas by also offering partnering opportunities for any interested company.

7. The leadership of the company.

The president and CEO of NextCure according to their official website, is Michael Richman. He has more than 30 year’s industrial experience in research, business development, project management, and strategic planning. He served in many other private and public companies before joining NextCure. Richman also sits in the board of management of other companies. The financial officer is Steven P. Cobourn, with Kevin N. Heller being the medical officer. James B. Bingham serves as the development officer, while Sol Langermann is the chief scientific officer. The leaders work closely with the assistants to ensure the smooth running of the company.

8. It uses FIND-IO platform to identify targets for new vaccines

NextCure makes use of FIND-IO platform to identify the goals for safe medicines. The platform discovers the cells and molecules that bring about the immune response. Through FIND-IO platform, they have identified several safe medications that counteract the tumors. The reaction of the tumor to the medicine is visible through the platform once administered. The platform further acts as a benchmark for all that the firm does. It is, however, not for use by everyone, since the researchers need to have a vast knowledge of immunology.

9. It partnered with Eli Lilly and Company

NextCure decided on November 5, 2018, to partner with Eli Lilly and Company. The partnership was to assist in the development of other immunity therapies for cancer by utilizing the existing treatments in both companies. The two companies were free to license the antibodies that they came up with through their research. Under the collaboration, NextCure was to receive $25 million as an upfront payment to assist in the development of additional resources. Eli Lilly and Company had a $15 million investment already in NextCure, and commercially successful products were to come out of the collaboration.

10. It does not generate revenue from product sales

Most companies make their revenues from the sale of their products and services. According to the quarterly report of NextCure, the company does not generate revenue from the sale of products. Moreover, it is not planning to derive its income from product sales even in the future. The funding of the company is mainly through the sale of selected stock and the proceedings of the agreement with their partner, Eli Lilly, and Company. Because of this, the company is projected to incur losses as it experiences a negative cash flow.

11. The company leases its place of operation

NextCure leases its area of service under an agreement with the owner. The lease of the current location of activity started on February 9, 2016, and is expected to end on August 31, 2025. It has been given some leeway since it is responsible for the modification of the leased place of operation to fit their preference. Earlier this year on January 30, the company leased 14,075 square feet to be used as a manufacturing space, a laboratory and as an office; occupation was done in June. The new lease ends in March 2030. The base rent for the first ten months is $19,650 per month but experiences an annual increase rent of 3% in the other proceeding years.

12. It received a $93 million financing in 2018

NextCure received a funding of $93 million in 2018 from several investors with Hillhouse Capital Management being the leading contributor. The funding was mainly an investment for the companies. The finances are useful in developing the company to ensure that it can do well in the research and manufacture of immune medicine.

13. Third-parties supply their raw materials

Some companies get their own raw materials to manufacture products, while others depend on other suppliers. Third-party suppliers are responsible for distributing raw materials to NextCure. The reliance upon third parties is one of the challenges that the company is facing because these suppliers fluctuate the price of the products. The quality of the products is sometimes also below expectations. When the quality of the products is compromised, the company cannot manufacture the best products. Such challenges may result in losing investors and customers in the future.

14. The company faces stiff competition from other companies

Several companies deal in the marketing and development of treatments for cancer in the United States, and NextCure faces competition from such businesses. The known competitors include Akrevia Therapeutics, Karo Pharma, and BerGenBio. Some of these companies are well developed and have a good history, making the products of NextCure to have a low demand. The pharmaceutical industry is also prone to rapid changes in technology, and some of the companies that embrace the technology tend to do better. The competition that exists is a challenge that the company must accept and deal with to ensure it has a significant market share. Some of the strategies NextCure can employ include using the best resources and the relevant technology to cope with the competition.

15. The company is not a party to taking legal action

NextCure may be a party to legal proceedings that arise from the ordinary business operations in the company. However, it does not take any legal action over anything that it might encounter, and this affects the business negatively. It relies on the state to take specific steps, and hence, the decision of the board is sometimes subject to approval first. The company ends up incurring losses as they seek the legal address of issues.

16. It entered into a term loan with a bank in 2016

To finance some of its operations, the company sometimes takes loans from commercial banks. In April 2016, NextCure got into a $1 million term loan with a bank. The company paid the mortgage earlier this year on January 25 to increase its loan limit to $5 million. It secured the limit through the use of cash flows in its investment and deposit accounts. It has also taken loans from other companies upon agreement on the time of repayment.

17. It closed its offer of selling 5,750,000 on May 13, 2019

NextCure had previously announced the sale of 5,750,000 shares of its stock shares at $15 per share on May 8, 2019. The announcement was public in many of the websites, including the site of the Securities Exchange Commission, and stakeholders showed the interest of purchasing more than $35 million worth of the shares. The company later on May 3, 2019, closed the offer. After that, the purchase of the shares became illegal according to the securities law.

18. It will present at the Annual Global Healthcare Conference

Networking is a useful way to market a company. NextCure is involved in networking through attending conferences. According to the Market Chameleon, NextCure has announced its presentation at the Annual Global Healthcare Conference to be held in Morgan Stanley. Live audio of the performance by the company will be available through the page of the investors’ section. The presentation will also be in the company of the website.

19. It has published a research paper with Yale University

NextCure announced the publication of a research paper on March 4, 2019, in collaboration with Yale University. The research paper was about the use of Singlec-15 in immunotherapy after lecturers did the study together with a research team from the company. The study finds Singlec-15 to suppress the immunity of the tumor, and the therapy is not associated with many side effects since the patients sampled did not develop other diseases. NextCure was excited about the breakthrough as Singlec-15 turns out to be an essential drug.

20. The strategy of the company

Each company has its approach to doing things. The path of NextCure is to fully utilize the available resources and skills to develop therapies for cancer patients that cannot get help from existing treatments. To achieve the strategy, it needs to advance the clinical development of NC410 and NC318, which are their lead product candidates. The company, therefore, prioritizes the development of the two products. While focusing on the patients that don’t respond to therapy, the company also builds an oncology pipeline to get new immune medicines. Apart from making the company’s capability, NextCure also partners with other organization to create new opportunities that will steer the company to another level.

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