On May 14, 2026 Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TPST) ("Tempest"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of advanced CAR-T cell therapy product candidates to treat cancer, reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, and provided a corporate update.

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"We made strong progress in the first quarter as we continued to execute across our lead program TPST-2003," said Matt Angel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Tempest. "We advanced key activities supporting the planned initiation of our U.S. registrational study of TPST-2003 in patients with rrMM, including announcing our lead manufacturing partner AGCTC and taking delivery of the TPST-2003 lentiviral vector, a critical component in the manufacturing of TPST-2003. At the same time, we strengthened our ability to unlock value across our remaining portfolio with the appointment of Andrew Fang, Ph.D., as our Head of Business Development, whose focus on strategic partnerships, licensing and corporate transactions will help position us for long-term growth. We believe these milestones further reinforce our momentum and our path toward delivering meaningful impact for patients and shareholders alike."

Recent Highlights

TPST-2003
Positive interim results across two ongoing clinical trials (REDEEM-1 Phase 1/2a trial of TPST-2003 in patients with rrMM, and POEMS-1 Phase 1 trial evaluating TPST-2003 in the rare disease, POEMS syndrome), both of which are being sponsored and conducted by Tempest’s partner, Novatim Immune Therapeutics:
100% complete response (CR) rate among all 15 CAR-T-naïve efficacy evaluable patients treated with TPST-2003 across REDEEM-1 and POEMS-1 trials.
Favorable safety profile with no Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) in REDEEM-1 trial appears to be emerging as a potentially differentiating attribute in its class.
Prior investigator-initiated trial (IIT) reached median progression free survival (PFS) of 23.1 months, including in patients with extramedullary disease.
44 patients with rrMM treated to date across three studies.
The selection of Cincinnati Children’s AGCTC as the lead contract development and manufacturing partner to conduct the formal technology transfer of TPST-2003, Tempest’s dual-targeting CD19/BCMA CAR-T therapy under development for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (rrMM). Further to the selection of AGCTC as lead partner, AGCTC took delivery of the TPST-2003 lentiviral vector, a critical component used in the manufacturing of TPST-2003, supporting plans to initiate the first potentially registrational study to evaluate a dual-targeting CAR-T therapy in patients with rrMM, including patients who are experiencing extramedullary disease (EMD), later this year.
Corporate:
Announced the appointment of Andrew Fang, Ph.D., as Head of Business Development. In his role, Dr. Fang will lead Tempest’s global business development efforts, including strategic partnerships, cross-border licensing and corporate transactions, with a particular focus on expanding Tempest’s outreach and partnering efforts in China.
Announced closing of strategic asset acquisition of new dual-targeting CAR-T assets from Factor Bioscience Inc. and Erigen LLC ("Asset Acquisition").
The transaction brought Tempest a portfolio of next-generation CAR-T assets, including TPST-2003, a clinical-stage dual-targeting CD-19/BCMA CAR-T with strategic partner-funded biologics license application ("BLA") filing in China planned for 2027.
In March 2026, Tempest announced up to $6 million private placement (the "2026 Offering") of common stock and warrants, with $2 million upfront and up to $4 million of potential aggregate gross proceeds upon the exercise in full of warrants, subject to shareholder approval.
Financial Results

First Quarter 2026

Tempest ended the quarter with $1.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $7.7 million on December 31, 2025. The decrease was primarily due to one-time transaction-associated costs incurred prior to or upon closing the Asset Acquisition, offset by net proceeds from the 2026 Offering of $1.7 million.
Net loss and net loss per share for the quarter were $27.7 million and $2.53, respectively, compared to $10.9 million and $3.16, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Research and development expenses for the quarter were $0.1 million compared to $7.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The $7.5 million decrease was primarily due to a decrease in costs incurred as a result of re-prioritizing efforts towards exploring strategic alternatives initiated in April 2025 and resulting in the Asset Acquisition completed in February 2026.
General and administrative expenses for the quarter were $5.4 million compared to $3.3 million for the same period in 2025. The $2.1 million increase was primarily due to one-time costs resulting from the Asset Acquisition completed in February 2026.
Acquired in-process research and development expenses for the quarter were $22.1 million compared to nil for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Costs incurred prior to or upon closing the Asset Acquisition in the three months ended March 31, 2026 were expensed as acquired in-process research and development.

(Press release, Tempest Therapeutics, MAY 14, 2026, View Source [SID1234665716])