Tempest Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TPST) reported a second-quarter 2026 net loss of $5.2 million, or $(0.34) per share, narrowing significantly from the $7.9 million loss, or $(2.07) per share, recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. The company also provided updates on its clinical-stage pipeline, announcing a strategic partnership to advance its lead in vivo CAR-T candidate, TPST-4003, and reporting positive interim data for TPST-2003.
Financial Performance
The reduction in the quarterly net loss was driven by lower research and development (R&D) expenses, which fell to $1.8 million from $3.9 million in Q2 2025. This decrease resulted from the re-prioritization of efforts following an asset acquisition completed in February 2026. General and administrative (G&A) expenses also declined slightly to $3.4 million from $4.1 million year-over-year, primarily due to lower one-time separation costs compared to the prior year.
For the six months ended June 30, 2026, Tempest reported a net loss of $32.9 million, compared to $18.7 million in the same period of 2025. The year-to-date increase in losses was largely attributable to $22.1 million in acquired in-process R&D expenses related to the February 2026 asset acquisition, a non-recurring item not present in the prior year.
| Metric |
Q2 2026 |
Q2 2025 |
H1 2026 |
H1 2025 |
| Net Loss |
$5.2 million |
$7.9 million |
$32.9 million |
$18.7 million |
| Net Loss Per Share |
$(0.34) |
$(2.07) |
$(2.52) |
$(5.17) |
| R&D Expenses |
$1.8 million |
$3.9 million |
$1.9 million |
$11.5 million |
| G&A Expenses |
$3.4 million |
$4.1 million |
$8.9 million |
$7.4 million |
Cash and cash equivalents decreased to $0.8 million as of June 30, 2026, from $7.7 million at the end of December 2025. The decline was offset partially by net proceeds of $1.7 million from a private placement and $1.7 million from a warrant inducement in the second quarter.
Pipeline and Corporate Updates
Tempest advanced its next-generation in vivo CAR-T platform with several key developments:
- TPST-4003: The company unveiled its lead product candidate, a dual-targeting CD19/BCMA CAR-T therapy using CD7-targeted mRNA/LNP delivery. Tempest entered a strategic partnership with Hebei Senlang Biotechnology to develop this candidate, beginning with an investigator-initiated trial in China for approximately 10 patients with myasthenia gravis or multiple sclerosis. First patient dosing is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- TPST-2003: Positive interim results were reported for ongoing trials in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (rrMM) and POEMS syndrome. The therapy achieved a 100% complete response rate among 15 CAR-T-naïve efficacy evaluable patients across two trials, with no Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity observed in the rrMM trial. Additionally, Cincinnati Children’s AGCTC was selected as the lead contract development and manufacturing partner to support a potentially registrational study later this year.
On the corporate front, Tempest appointed Drake Richey and John Yee, MD, MPH, to its Board of Directors, and named Andrew Fang, Ph.D., as Head of Business Development to focus on global partnerships, particularly in China.
What the Numbers Show
The divergence between the quarterly and year-to-date financial results highlights the impact of non-recurring acquisition costs. While the Q2 operating performance improved with a narrower loss driven by reduced R&D spend, the H1 2026 net loss more than doubled year-over-year due to the $22.1 million charge for acquired in-process R&D. This suggests that the core operational burn rate has stabilized post-acquisition, but the balance sheet remains under pressure, evidenced by cash reserves dropping to $0.8 million, necessitating continued capital raising efforts as indicated by the recent warrant inducement and private placement.
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