Xenetic Biosciences

What Xenetic Biosciences does

Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: XBIO) is a Framingham, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing systemic recombinant human DNase I (rhDNase I) as an adjunctive therapy that degrades neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the tumor microenvironment to improve outcomes of existing cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and CAR-T cell therapy. The company's lead candidate XBIO-015 is in preclinical development for pancreatic carcinoma and other solid tumors in combination with FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy, and for hematologic malignancies in combination with anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy, while a second candidate XBIO-020 is listed in the pipeline. The company also retains the PolyXen drug delivery platform technology. Xenetic advances its pipeline through an asset-light, partnership-driven model: core collaborators include PeriNess (clinical execution in Israel), The Scripps Research Institute (preclinical and translational research with Dr. Alexey Stepanov), the University of Virginia, and clinical sites at Bnei Zion Medical Center and Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, with regulatory approval obtained from the Israeli Ministry of Health for a DNase I + CAR-T study in large B-cell lymphoma.

Commercially, Xenetic has no product sales; its only revenue is royalty income from a sublicense agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., which generated approximately $3.0 million in FY2025 (up 19% YoY) and roughly $0.8 million in Q1 2026 (up 36% YoY). The company ended FY2025 with $7.9M in cash (boosted by a $4.5M underwritten public offering in October 2025) and reported a $2.7M net loss for FY2025, with the Q1 2026 net loss narrowing to $0.5M. Headcount is 11–50 employees, and James Parslow currently serves as Interim CEO and CFO following the Q2 2024 departure of the prior CEO and CSO. The Board and a special independent committee are conducting a formal review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

Name

Xenetic Biosciences

Legal name

Xenetic Biosciences, Inc.

Website

https://xeneticbio.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Xenetic Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing systemic DNase I (lead asset XBIO-015) as an adjunctive therapy to degrade NETs in the tumor microenvironment and enhance chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and CAR-T outcomes across pancreatic, hematologic, and pediatric solid tumors, with revenue currently limited to Takeda sublicense royalties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceutical Oncology Therapeutics

NAICS

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

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Cytokines, Interferons & Immunomodulatory Proteins (HLAAAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

mRNA & Nucleic Acid Manufacturing Services (mRNA/saRNA/Plasmid DNA) (HLAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Oncology drug development
• DNase enzyme therapy
• CAR-T combination therapy
• Immuno-oncology platform
• Pancreatic cancer treatment

Headquarters

HQ city

Framingham

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Royalty Revenue from Takeda Sublicense: Xenetic receives royalty payments from its sublicense agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., which generated approximately $3.0 million in royalty revenue for full-year 2025 (19% increase year-over-year). This represents the company's primary revenue stream.
2. Research and Development: The company is focused on developing its DNase-based oncology platform toward clinical development, with the goal of generating future revenue through product sales or additional licensing agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Xenetic Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company developing a proprietary systemic recombinant human DNase I oncology platform designed to degrade neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the tumor microenvironment, addressing immunosuppression and therapeutic resistance. Its lead candidate XBIO-015 is being advanced as an adjunctive therapy to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and CAR-T cell therapies for pancreatic cancer, lymphoma, and other solid tumors. The company also leverages its PolyXen drug delivery platform alongside its DNase technology.

Product overview

Xenetic Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of immune-oncology technologies centered on its proprietary DNase I Oncology Platform. The company's lead candidate XBIO-015 is a systemic recombinant human DNase I designed to degrade neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that drive cancer progression and immunosuppression. XBIO-020 is another pipeline candidate. The DNase platform is being developed as an adjunctive therapy to improve outcomes of existing cancer treatments including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and CAR-T cell therapy across multiple oncology indications including pancreatic cancer, lymphoma, and solid tumors. The company also leverages the PolyXen drug delivery platform alongside its DNase technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DNase I Oncology Platform Proprietary systemic recombinant human DNase I technology platform designed to degrade neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and cell-free chromatin in the tumor microenvironment, intended to improve outcomes of existing cancer treatments including immunotherapies, chemotherapy, and CAR-T cell therapies. Targeted at oncology biopharma licensees and academic/clinical research collaborators.
• XBIO-015 Systemic recombinant human DNase I drug candidate in clinical/preclinical development as an adjunctive therapy for pancreatic carcinoma and other locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, and in combination with CAR-T cell therapies for hematologic cancers. Targeted at oncology patients and biopharma partners.
• XBIO-020 Additional pipeline product candidate listed in the company's product pipeline; limited detail available in source data. Targeted at oncology indications.
• PolyXen Drug Delivery Platform Drug delivery platform technology used to support the company's pipeline of therapeutic assets alongside the DNase platform. Targeted at pharmaceutical partners and internal pipeline programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• CAR-T cell expansion and persistence significantly enhanced in preclinical models
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2026Clinical study site for investigator-initiated study of DNase I in combination with anti-CD19 CAR T cells in large B-cell lymphoma patients. Dr. Ron Ram, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, serves as principal investigator. Study conducted under Israeli Ministry of Health approval. Also site for pediatric sarcoma study under Prof. Ronit Elhasid.
• PeriNess Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025PeriNess serves as the primary clinical development partner, leading regulatory approval, operational execution, and management of exploratory investigator-initiated studies of recombinant DNase I as an adjunctive treatment in patients with pancreatic carcinoma and other solid tumors receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy in Israeli medical centers. PeriNess has entered clinical study agreements for studies in pancreatic cancer (Bnei Zion Medical Center) and large B-cell lymphoma (Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center).
• Bnei Zion Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2025Clinical study site for first-in-human dosing of DNase I in combination with FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy for first-line treatment of unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Dr. Abed Agbabrya, Head of Oncology at Bnei Zion Hospital, serves as principal investigator.
• The Scripps Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2024Extended collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute and Dr. Alexey Stepanov's laboratory to advance the development program evaluating combination of systemic DNase I and CAR T-cell therapies. Studies using lymphoma, metastatic melanoma, and leukemia models have demonstrated that co-administration of DNase I with CAR-T cells significantly reduces tumor burden and extends survival. Research collaboration extended multiple times, most recently through November 2025 for 4 additional months.
• University of VirginiasecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2024Research collaboration with University of Virginia for advancement of DNase-based oncology platform, extended through 2025. Collaboration focuses on mechanism of action and translational research studies supporting DNase platform development.
• Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2020Sublicense agreement with Takeda generating royalty revenue of approximately $3.0 million in 2025, a 19% increase year-over-year. Royalty payments increased 36% in Q1 2026 to approximately $0.8 million driven by increased payments under the sublicense agreement. Takeda receives certain rights to Xenetic technologies under the arrangement.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Compugen: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company using a computational platform to identify novel drug targets in the tumor microenvironment. Highly comparable to Xenetic as a small-cap, platform-based IO company targeting TME immunosuppression.
• Innate Pharma: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing antibody-based therapeutics that engage the immune system against cancer. Comparable to Xenetic in scale, oncology focus, and reliance on partnerships to advance clinical development.
• Werewolf Therapeutics: Clinical-stage IO company developing INDUKINE prodrugs designed to be activated in the tumor microenvironment, selectively delivering immune stimulation to tumors. Directly comparable as a small-cap, TME-focused IO platform company.
• Bolt Biotherapeutics: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing immune-stimulating antibody conjugates (ISACs) that combine tumor-targeting antibodies with immune stimulation. Comparable in clinical stage, IO focus, and small-cap profile.
• Atreca: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company discovering and developing novel antibody-based therapeutics using its immune repertoire capture technology. Comparable as a small-cap IO discovery platform company with limited commercial revenue.

Emerging players

• Allogene Therapeutics: Clinical-stage CAR-T company developing allogeneic CAR-T therapies for hematologic and solid tumors. Comparable to Xenetic's CAR-T combination thesis where DNase I is being developed to enhance CAR-T persistence and efficacy.
• CRISPR Therapeutics: Clinical-stage gene-editing company developing CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies including CAR-T candidates. Comparable as a CAR-T innovator whose platforms could benefit from adjunctive DNase I therapy to improve persistence and reduce exhaustion.
• Surface Oncology: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing therapeutics targeting the TME, including anti-IL-27 and anti-CD112R antibodies. Comparable in TME-targeting approach and small-cap clinical-stage profile.

Broad incumbents

• Roche: Global pharmaceutical company that commercializes Pulmozyme (dornase alfa), a recombinant human DNase I approved for cystic fibrosis. Most relevant commercial benchmark for a DNase I therapeutic and a potential large-pharma partner or acquirer for the oncology indication.

Others

• Santersus AG: Private biotech developing apheresis-based therapies for extracorporeal removal of NETs. Founded by Dr. Dmitry Genkin (Xenetic's Chairman), making it a thematically related NETs-targeting company and potential ecosystem peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/xeneticbio
• Facebookfacebook.com/xeneticbio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/xenetic-biosciences-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Xenetic Biosciences