HCW Biologics Regains Nasdaq Compliance, Prices $1.5M Offering to Fund Immunotherapy Development

HCW Biologics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies to lengthen healthspan by disrupting the link between inflammation and disease, reported that on February 26, 2026, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel found that the Company regained compliance with all continued listing rules of The Nasdaq Capital Market. The company's Founder and CEO stated that regaining compliance allows the company to continue to access the public markets for capital needed to advance its first-in-class immunotherapeutic drugs that the company believes will transform the way autoimmune diseases, cancer and other senescence-associated diseases are treated.

The company announced the pricing of a follow-on offering of 2,477,292 units at $0.6055 per unit. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase an additional share at the same price, with exercise contingent on shareholder approval. The offering is expected to close around February 19, 2026, and aims to raise approximately $1.5 million. The securities are being offered under a registration statement declared effective by the SEC on February 17, 2026. Maxim Group LLC is serving as the sole placement agent for the follow-on offering.

The company plans to lower the exercise price of existing warrants from $2.41 to $0.6055, pending shareholder approval. The proceeds will fund preclinical and clinical development, including trials for the candidate HCW9302, and general corporate purposes.

HCW Biologics has published research on HCW9206, a novel multi-cytokine fusion protein, in Science Advances. The studies, spearheaded by a team at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, highlight the breakthrough potential of HCW9206. This proprietary multi-cytokine fusion protein reagent represents a novel approach in crafting chimeric T-cell receptor T cells for immunotherapy. HCW9206 serves as a pioneering cytokine-scaffold-based platform, elevating the production of potent CAR-T immunotherapies by generating a CAR-T cell population that is enriched with long-lived T-memory stem cells.

The company's lead product candidate for its autoimmune program is HCW9302, a subcutaneously injectable, first-in-kind interleukin-2 fusion molecule with a tissue-factor scaffold that was constructed using the Company's TOBI platform technology. HCW9302 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical study in patients with alopecia areata, which initiated in November 2025 (NCT07049328).

The company has identified two preclinical lead product candidates for internal development constructed with its proprietary TRBC drug discovery and development platform. HCW11-018b ("Big BiTE") is a tetra-valent T-cell engager designed to address shortfalls of bi-specific T-cell engagers related to manufacturability, safety profile, and ability to treat a wide spectrum of solid tumors. HCW11-040 is a pembrolizumab-based, tetra-valent immune checkpoint inhibitor equipped with other moieties which neutralize the immunosuppressive cytokine, TGF-β, and activate effector immune cell responses.

The company's immunotherapeutics represent a new class of drug that it believes have the potential to fundamentally change the treatment of cancer and many other diseases and conditions that are promoted by chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation, including inflammaging, is believed to be a significant contributing factor to the cause for senescence-associated diseases and conditions that diminish healthspan, including many types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.

HCW Biologics has a market capitalization of approximately $2.97 million. The company reported revenue of $0.42 million with no growth over the past three years. The company's operating margin is -2901.89%, and net margin is -2849.17%. The company's current ratio is 0.06, and its debt-to-equity ratio is -3.23. Institutional ownership stands at 13.32%, while insider ownership is 12.87%.