NextCure Inks $745M Deal With Simcere For Cancer Drug: Retail’s More Optimistic Despite Stock’s 27% Decline

The newly announced partnership aims to develop SIM0505, a novel antibody-drug conjugate developed by Simcere Zaiming for the treatment of solid tumors.

Shares of NextCure, Inc. (NXTC) slumped 27% on Monday after the company announced a strategic partnership with China-based Simcere Zaiming to develop a therapy for the treatment of solid tumors.

Simcere Zaiming is an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.

The newly announced partnership aims to develop SIM0505, a novel antibody-drug conjugate developed by Simcere Zaiming for the treatment of solid tumors. This compound has demonstrated robust anti-tumor activity across multiple solid tumor models in preclinical studies.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of targeted cancer therapies designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells, minimizing harm to healthy cells.

The drug is currently in early-stage testing in China. NextCure anticipates commencing clinical testing in the United States in the third quarter of 2025, with early-stage clinical data anticipated in the first half of 2026.

While NextCure will gain global rights to SIM0505, excluding Greater China, Simcere Zaiming will retain rights there, the company said.

Simcere Zaiming is eligible to receive payments of up to $745 million throughout the potential development phases. This includes upfront payment, development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments.

The China-based company is also eligible to receive tiered royalties up to double digits on net sales outside of the Greater China territory.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NextCure rose from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 12 months while message volume rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.

NXTC stock is down by about 39% this year and by about 65% over the past 12 months.

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