What Werewolf Therapeutics does

Werewolf Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology biopharmaceutical company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts. It trades on NASDAQ under the ticker HOWL. The company develops conditionally activated proinflammatory immune modulators — INDUKINE™ molecules — and conditionally activated T cell engagers — INDUCER™ molecules — designed to remain inactive in peripheral tissue and activate selectively in the tumor microenvironment. These candidates are built on the company's proprietary PREDATOR® protein engineering platform, which integrates masking, tumor-selective protease activation, and half-life extension elements into single systemically delivered molecules intended to limit the off-target toxicities that have historically constrained cytokine-based therapies such as IL-2, IL-12, IL-18, and IL-21.

The clinical pipeline is led by WTX-124, a conditionally activated IL-2 INDUKINE in Phase 1/1b for advanced solid tumors including heavily pretreated melanoma (where it has shown a 21–30% objective response rate and received FDA Fast Track Designation), and WTX-330, a conditionally activated IL-12 INDUKINE in Phase 1b/2 for advanced solid tumors and lymphoma. Earlier-stage assets include WTX-712 (IL-21), WTX-518 (IL-18), WTX-921 (IL-10, for inflammatory bowel disease), and INDUCER programs WTX-1011 (STEAP1, prostate cancer) and WTX-2022 (CDH6, ovarian and kidney cancers). JZP898 (formerly WTX-613, an IFNα INDUKINE) has been out-licensed to Jazz Pharmaceuticals and is in Phase 1 development.

The company has reported $0 in collaboration revenue for FY2025 against a $60.8M net loss, with $57.1M in cash as of December 31, 2025 providing runway into Q4 2026. There are no commercial products; the only revenue mechanism historically is out-licensing. In February 2026 the board approved a 64% workforce reduction, the CFO and CMO resigned, Piper Sandler was engaged to explore strategic alternatives (sale, merger, or licensing), and the company received a Nasdaq deficiency notice for failing the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement, with compliance required by August 3, 2026.

Name

Werewolf Therapeutics

Legal name

Werewolf Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://werewolftx.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Werewolf Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology biopharmaceutical company developing conditionally activated INDUKINE™ cytokine and INDUCER™ T cell engager therapeutics via its proprietary PREDATOR® protein engineering platform, targeting patients with advanced solid tumors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immuno-Oncology Biotherapeutics

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Cytokines, Interferons & Immunomodulatory Proteins (HLAAAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH)

Keywords

• Oncology biotherapeutics
• Cancer immunotherapy
• Protein engineering platform
• Clinical-stage pharmaceuticals
• Tumor microenvironment targeting

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Pre-Revenue / Clinical Stage: Werewolf Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no collaboration revenue. The company reported $0M revenue in FY2025 with a net loss of $60.822 million. The company is exploring strategic alternatives including potential sale, merger, licensing deals, or financing to extend operational runway.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Werewolf Therapeutics develops a pipeline of conditionally activated proinflammatory immune modulators (INDUKINE™ molecules such as WTX-124 IL-2 and WTX-330 IL-12) and conditionally activated T cell engagers (INDUCER™ molecules), all engineered using its proprietary PREDATOR® protein-engineering platform. The molecules are designed to remain inactive systemically and activate selectively within the tumor microenvironment, aiming to deliver validated cytokine and T cell-engaging biology while minimizing off-target toxicities for patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

Product overview

Werewolf Therapeutics is developing a pipeline of conditionally activated proinflammatory immune modulators called INDUKINE™ molecules and next-generation INDUCER™ T cell engagers for cancer and inflammatory disease treatment. The core PREDATOR® protein engineering technology platform enables systemically delivered therapies that remain inactive in peripheral tissue and activate selectively in the tumor microenvironment. Lead candidates include WTX-124 (IL-2, Phase 1/1b) and WTX-330 (IL-12, Phase 1b/2), with earlier-stage pipeline candidates WTX-712 (IL-21), WTX-518 (IL-18), WTX-921 (IL-10), WTX-1011 (STEAP1 T cell engager), and WTX-2022 (CDH6 T cell engager). A partnered program, JZP898 (IFNα, Phase 1), has been acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WTX-124

Quantifiable outcome

• 21-30% objective response rate in heavily pretreated melanoma patients treated with WTX-124
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jazz PharmaceuticalscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerJazz Pharmaceuticals acquired JZP898 (formerly WTX-613), a systemically delivered conditionally activated Interferon alpha (IFNα) INDUKINE molecule being developed for refractory and/or immunologically unresponsive tumors. Werewolf out-licensed this partnered program to Jazz.
• HonorHealth Research InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical trial partner conducting Phase 1/1b trial of WTX-124. A patient at HonorHealth achieved complete response and has been in remission for over a year - featured in company's Full Moon Moment campaign.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Adagene: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing conditionally activated antibodies using its SAFEbody® masking platform; comparable in approach to targeting tumor microenvironment while sparing healthy tissue.
• Compugen: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company leveraging computational platform to develop novel cytokine and immune checkpoint targets; comparable in developing innovative cytokine-based cancer immunotherapies.
• CytomX Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology company pioneering Probody® conditionally activated therapeutics with masking technology designed to reduce systemic toxicity—directly comparable to Werewolf's PREDATOR platform and INDUKINE/INDUCER masking approaches.
• BioAtla: Clinical-stage company developing Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs) that are activated in tumor microenvironment; comparable conditionally activated protein therapeutic platform targeting solid tumors.
• Harpoon Therapeutics: Developed T cell engagers (HPN328, HPN217) for solid tumors using TriTAC platform; comparable T cell engager approach that ultimately validated exit via Merck acquisition, illustrating strategic outcome pathway for Werewolf.
• Janux Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of tumor-activated T cell engagers (TRACTrs); directly comparable INDUCER-style T cell engager mechanism with tumor-selective activation.
• Cullinan Oncology: Clinical-stage oncology company developing a diversified pipeline of immuno-oncology candidates including cytokine-based therapies; comparable small-cap clinical-stage model exploring strategic partnerships for individual programs.
• NextCure: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing novel immunomedicines for solid tumors; comparable small-cap clinical-stage model with similar workforce and pipeline scale.
• Dragonfly Therapeutics: Developer of cytokine-based immunotherapies including IL-12, IL-15, and IL-21 candidates with TriNKETs platform; directly comparable cytokine-immunotherapy focus overlapping with Werewolf's INDUKINE pipeline.

Emerging players

• Maverick Therapeutics: Pre-clinical/early-clinical developer of conditionally activated T cell engagers (COBRA platform) acquired by Takeda; comparable T cell engager approach with tumor-selective activation in solid tumors, illustrating strategic acquisition path.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/werewolfthera
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/werewolf-therapeutics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors24 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Werewolf Therapeutics