Key Highlights

● Curis, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRIS) reported updated objective-response data for its IRAK4/FLT3 inhibitor emavusertib in primary CNS lymphoma and dosed the first patients in a new chronic lymphocytic leukemia study, as the small-cap biotech works through a thin cash position and a shareholder-approved reverse stock split.

● Curis held $15.0 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026, versus $5.1 million at December 31, 2025, after closing a January 2026 private placement.

● All disclosed clinical results involve very small patient numbers, as few as five, seven, eight, or ten patients, making response rates statistically fragile and vulnerable to reversal.

● Investors should watch for expanded enrollment and additional response data from the new leukemia trial.

Curis, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRIS) told investors on July 22, 2026 that its lead drug candidate, emavusertib, continued to produce objective responses in patients with relapsed or refractory primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), and on July 30 the company confirmed it had dosed the first five patients in a newly launched Phase 2 study pairing the drug with the BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The updates arrive as Curis, a clinical-stage oncology company with no approved products, works to stretch roughly $15 million of cash while its stock trades near multi-year lows and a shareholder-approved reverse split looms.

What happened

In its July 22 update, Curis said that among BTK-inhibitor-naïve PCNSL patients evaluable as of July 1, 2026, five of five treated with emavusertib plus a BTK inhibitor achieved an objective response, a 100% rate. Among BTK-inhibitor-experienced patients who had already progressed on prior BTK-inhibitor therapy, three of ten evaluable patients responded, a 33% objective response rate (ORR), comparable to the 37% ORR (7 of 19 patients) disclosed in the company's March 2025 year-end update. Curis also said it now expects initial data from the newly started TakeAim CLL study on five to ten patients in December 2026, up from prior guidance of five patients, after consenting ten patients and dosing the first five across eleven active clinical sites.

Why the development matters

PCNSL is a rare, aggressive lymphoma with few options for patients who progress after BTK-inhibitor therapy, and Curis has said the FDA and EMA indicated in 2025 that the ongoing TakeAim Lymphoma study could potentially support an accelerated approval application in relapsed/refractory PCNSL. A 100% response rate in a five-patient cohort is an encouraging signal but statistically fragile given the tiny sample; the more clinically telling BTKi-experienced cohort showed a lower but still notable one-third response rate, suggesting the drug can salvage some, not all, of these difficult-to-treat patients. The CLL trial, combining emavusertib with zanubrutinib in patients with residual disease despite a year on a BTK inhibitor, targets a larger population if it can deepen responses beyond BTK-inhibitor monotherapy alone.

Company and product background

Emavusertib (CA-4948) is an oral, small-molecule inhibitor of IRAK4 and FLT3, kinases implicated in several blood cancers. It is being developed under the "TakeAim" trial umbrella: TakeAim Lymphoma, a Phase 1/2 study in PCNSL combining emavusertib with BTK inhibitors including ibrutinib; TakeAim CLL (protocol CA-4948-203, NCT07271667), a newly initiated Phase 2 study with zanubrutinib; and a frontline acute myeloid leukemia (AML) triplet study with azacitidine and venetoclax, which showed five of eight patients (62.5%) achieving undetectable measurable residual disease at the American Society of Hematology meeting in December 2025. Emavusertib holds orphan drug designation from the FDA and EMA for PCNSL, though no indication has reached regulatory filing; the near-term ambition is an eventual accelerated approval submission in PCNSL. Notably, Curis no longer holds the royalty interest in Genentech/Roche's Erivedge (vismodegib) historically associated with the company: it sold that royalty stream to TPC Investments Royalty LLC on November 6, 2025 for a $2.5 million upfront payment, recognizing a $27.2 million non-cash gain from extinguishing the related liability. Curis reported zero revenue in Q1 2026 and has no further Erivedge-related income, a discrepancy from any framing that treats the Erivedge royalty as an ongoing revenue stream.

Financial position

Curis held $15.0 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026, versus $5.1 million at December 31, 2025, after closing a January 2026 private placement (PIPE) that provided an initial roughly $20.2 million and structured up to $80.8 million in total gross proceeds through Series A, B and C warrants exercisable at $0.75 per share, led by Nantahala Capital, Stonepine Capital Management, Pointillist Partners and The Red Hook Fund. Curis reported a Q1 2026 net loss of $24.2 million (versus $10.6 million in Q1 2025), including $6.4 million of R&D expense, $5.1 million of G&A expense, and $12.7 million of other expense tied to warrant-liability fair-value changes. Full-year 2025 net loss was $7.6 million, aided by the Erivedge-sale gain; underlying operating losses were larger absent that one-time item. Management estimates current cash plus an anticipated $20.2 million from Series B warrant exercises will fund operations into the second half of 2027, contingent on warrant holders actually exercising. Shares outstanding were approximately 40 million as of the Q1 2026 report and about 12.9 million at year-end 2025; on June 26, 2026 stockholders approved a reverse stock split of between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25, aimed at regaining Nasdaq's $1.00 minimum bid-price compliance, with the board authorized to set the final ratio. Recent share-count data (roughly 1.95 million shares, market capitalization near $9.7 million) suggest the split has since taken effect, though a release confirming the exact ratio and date was not located among the sources reviewed here.

Bull case

If the PCNSL BTKi-naïve signal holds up in a larger group, and the BTKi-experienced cohort's one-third response rate is confirmed, emavusertib could become a treatment option for a lymphoma with limited alternatives, potentially supporting an accelerated approval pathway the FDA and EMA have flagged as plausible. Positive AML triplet and CLL data would broaden the drug's addressable indications, and the PIPE financing, if warrants are exercised, could extend the company's runway past 2027 without further dilutive financing.

Risk case

All disclosed clinical results involve very small patient numbers, five, seven, eight, ten patients, making response rates statistically fragile and vulnerable to reversal as enrollment grows. Curis carries no product revenue following the Erivedge royalty sale, continues posting large quarterly losses, and depends on warrant exercises priced at $0.75 per share for a meaningful part of its projected runway, an assumption outside management's control. The company already needed a shareholder-approved reverse split to address Nasdaq compliance concerns, signaling the stock's depressed valuation and the dilution investors have already absorbed through the PIPE structure.

What investors should watch next

1. Initial TakeAim CLL data on five to ten patients, expected December 2026.

Conclusion

Curis's emavusertib program continues to generate encouraging, if early and small-sample, response data in PCNSL, alongside a newly dosing CLL combination study that could expand the drug's reach. The company's financial position remains tight, revenue-free following the Erivedge royalty sale, and dependent on warrant exercises and further data to sustain its runway. Investors weighing the story face a familiar clinical-stage biotech trade-off: a differentiated candidate with FDA-acknowledged regulatory potential set against a fragile balance sheet, a depressed share price, and results still based on single-digit patient counts.

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