Alaunos Therapeutics

What Alaunos Therapeutics does

Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. is a NASDAQ-listed (TCRT), clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that is developing therapeutic candidates for solid tumors and metabolic disease. Its foundational technology is a proprietary non-viral TCR-T cell therapy platform built around the Sleeping Beauty transposon/transposase system for genetic modification of T cells to express tumor-specific T-cell receptors, paired with the proprietary hunTR® discovery platform — a high-throughput bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing workflow that identifies and functionally validates neoantigen-reactive TCRs without requiring TIL expansion — and a membrane-bound interleukin-15 (mbIL-15) co-expression feature designed to enhance TCR-T persistence. Historically, the company advanced this program under a research and development agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center focused on bioengineering TCRs against patient-specific neoantigens and shared hotspot mutations (KRAS, TP53, EGFR), and ran a first-in-human Phase 1/2 trial in 2022 with manageable safety and a confirmed partial response in the first patient.

Alaunos has more recently pivoted its lead development focus to ALN1003, an oral small-molecule drug candidate for obesity and metabolic disorders that operates via a non-incretin mechanism — i.e., it does not rely on hormonal manipulation — and is positioned as potentially differentiated versus GLP-1-based therapies on tolerability. Two non-GLP preclinical pharmacology studies in a diet-induced obesity mouse model established proof-of-concept, with reported up to 30.5% body weight reduction at high doses, statistically significant dose-related reductions, improved body composition (fat reduction with relative lean preservation), and favorable shifts in metabolic parameters including fasting insulin and liver weight; preclinical work is positioned to inform IND-enabling studies. The hunTR® platform and the legacy TCR-T cell therapy program are now classified on the company's own website as "legacy products."

The company is pre-revenue and historically funded through equity financings, most prominently a ~$15.7M public offering of ~24.2 million shares in November 2022 (with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as lead) and a ~$2.9M concurrent equity financing in April 2026. The leadership team, led by Chairman and CEO Holger Weis (appointed July 2025, board director since December 2020), is predominantly finance- and governance-oriented. Alaunos faces material capital constraints: at March 31, 2026 cash was approximately $0.354M against a -$4.68M net loss, and the company received a Nasdaq notice for failing to meet the $2.5M stockholders' equity requirement. Institutional shareholder activity includes a 5.09% stake disclosed by PMGC Capital LLC (May 2026) signaling interest in strategic transactions. The customer base today consists of one disclosed institutional research partner (MD Anderson Cancer Center); there is no commercial product, no product sales, and no licensing revenue, so all revenue is currently prospective.

Name

Alaunos Therapeutics

Legal name

Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://alaunos.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Alaunos Therapeutics is a NASDAQ-listed (TCRT), clinical-stage biotechnology company developing ALN1003, an oral non-incretin small molecule for obesity and related metabolic disorders, supported by a legacy non-viral TCR-T cell therapy platform (hunTR® / Sleeping Beauty) historically partnered with MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Obesity Therapeutics

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Endocrinology & Reproductive Health Pharmaceuticals (incl. Women’s Health) (HLAIAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gastroenterology & Hepatology Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAI)

Keywords

• Obesity therapeutics
• Small molecule drug development
• TCR-T cell therapy
• Metabolic disorder treatments
• Non-viral gene therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Pipeline Development Revenue: Pre-revenue clinical stage biotechnology company. The company is developing therapeutic candidates for oncology (TCR-T cell therapy) and metabolic disorders (obesity program). Revenue will be generated from product sales upon regulatory approval and commercialization.
2. Equity Financing: Company raises capital through public offerings of common stock. Completed approximately $15.7 million public offering in November 2022 and $2.9 million concurrent equity financing in April 2026.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Alaunos Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing ALN1003, an oral, non-incretin small-molecule drug candidate for obesity and related metabolic disorders, targeting a differentiated tolerability profile compared to GLP-1 based therapies. The company also retains legacy assets including the hunTR® TCR discovery platform and non-viral TCR-T cell therapy program (Sleeping Beauty system) for solid tumors. The company has not yet commercialized any products and is conducting preclinical activities intended to support future IND-enabling studies.

Product overview

Alaunos Therapeutics is developing therapeutic treatments for obesity and metabolic health. The company's lead product candidate is ALN1003, an oral small-molecule obesity drug that completed preclinical proof-of-concept studies. The company also maintains the hunTR® (human neoantigen T-cell receptor) platform, a proprietary high-throughput TCR screening technology. Legacy programs included a non-viral TCR-T cell therapy platform using the Sleeping Beauty system for solid tumor treatment, though the company has pivoted toward its obesity and metabolic disorders program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• hunTR Platform: Human neoantigen T-cell receptor platform enabling rapid identification of new TCRs for the company's growing TCR library using state-of-the-art bioinformatics and next generation sequencing.

Products and services

• ALN1003 Oral, non-incretin small-molecule drug candidate for obesity and related metabolic disorders including MASLD, completed non-GLP pharmacology studies establishing proof-of-concept in DIO mouse model with statistically significant dose-related reductions in body weight and improvements in body composition.
• hunTR® Platform (legacy) Proprietary high-throughput TCR screening platform for rapid identification and functional validation of neoantigen-reactive T-cell receptors, used to build the company's TCR library without requiring TIL expansion. Listed under legacy products on Alaunos' website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 30.5% body weight reduction in high-dose mice in DIO model studies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MD Anderson Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch and development agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center to advance the Sleeping Beauty TCR-T cell therapy platform in the fight against solid tumors. The collaboration focuses on bioengineering T-cell receptors targeting neoantigens specific to individual patient's cancers.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Viking Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing injectable and oral obesity candidates (e.g., VK2735). Comparable to Alaunos as a small-cap, single-indication-focused obesity biotech with differentiated mechanism studies and similar financing dynamics.
• Structure Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech focused on oral small-molecule GLP-1 agonists for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Directly comparable to ALN1003's positioning as an oral, small-molecule obesity candidate.

Emerging players

• Rivus Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage biotech developing controlled metabolic accelerators (CMAs) for obesity and metabolic disease. Comparable to Alaunos as a small clinical-stage obesity company pursuing a non-GLP-1 mechanism.
• Terns Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage company with oral small-molecule candidates for obesity (e.g., TERN-601). Comparable as a peer-sized oral obesity biotech pursuing GLP-1 and non-incretin mechanisms.
• Kintai Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech focused on metabolic disease and obesity, with assets targeting enteroendocrine pathways. Comparable as a small-cap, mechanism-differentiated obesity developer.
• Innovent Biologics: China-based biotech with mazdutide and a pipeline targeting obesity and metabolic disease. Comparable as an emerging clinical-stage obesity developer pursuing novel peptide and small-molecule mechanisms.

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Global pharmaceutical incumbent with leading obesity franchise (tirzepatide, retatrutide, oral orforglipron). Relevant incumbent benchmark for the obesity market Alaunos is targeting with ALN1003.
• Novo Nordisk: Incumbent leader in obesity therapeutics with semaglutide and a deep obesity pipeline. Defines the competitive backdrop and tolerability benchmark that ALN1003 must beat.
• Pfizer: Large pharma actively rebuilding an obesity franchise (e.g., danuglipron) following prior setbacks. Comparable as a potential strategic acquirer or competitor that defines capital and clinical-scale requirements in obesity.
• Amgen: Large biotech with MariTide (AMG 133) in obesity development. Comparable as a broad incumbent shaping the standard of care and competitive landscape for differentiated oral obesity mechanisms.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alaunos
• Xx.com/ZIOPHARM
• Facebookfacebook.com/ziopharmoncology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds13 records

Investors11 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 Alaunos Therapeutics