Exemption from the $5.1 million repayment obligation strengthens LAVA’s balance sheet
Underscores focus on cost curtailment and strategic option evaluation
UTRECHT, The Netherlands and PHILADELPHIA, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LAVATherapeuticsN.V. (NASDAQ: LVTX, “LAVA,” “the Company”), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on developing its proprietary Gammabody® platform of bispecific gamma delta T cell engagers, today announced that the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, RVO) granted a full waiver of the final payment obligation related to the Innovation Credit, in the amount of $5.1 million.
“As part of LAVA’s ongoing strategic review, we have implemented a targeted cost optimization initiative to enhance operational efficiency and financial flexibility,” said Steve Hurly, Chief Executive Officer of LAVA. “Securing the $5.1 million repayment waiver is a significant milestone in this effort. This waiver strengthens our balance sheet by eliminating this outstanding debt obligation. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the RVO and be part of the Innovation Credit program.”
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, RVO) Innovation Credit provides financing in the form of an interest-bearing loan to support the development of innovative programs according to defined criteria. LAVA was awarded a Netherlands Innovation Credit in 2019 related to the development of LAVA-051 and pledged certain assets of that project, including certain intellectual property (IP), as a guarantee.
About LAVA Therapeutics
LAVA Therapeutics N.V. is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on advancing its proprietary Gammabody® platform to develop a portfolio of bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers for the potential treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The Company utilizes bispecific antibodies engineered to selectively kill cancer cells by triggering Vγ9Vδ2 (Vgamma9 Vdelta2) T cell anti-tumor effector functions upon cross-linking to tumor-associated antigens.
LAVA’s pipeline includes three internal and partnered clinical-stage bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers for the treatment of solid tumor and hematological cancers including LAVA 1266, targeting CD123+ cancers (ACTRN12624001214527); PF-08046052, targeting EGFR (NCT05983133); and JNJ-89853413, targeting hematological cancers (NCT06618001). The pipeline also includes preclinical programs. For more information on LAVA, please visit our website at www.lavatherapeutics.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
Gammabody® is a registered trademark of LAVA Therapeutics N.V.
LAVA’sCautionaryNoteonForward-LookingStatements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts are “forward-looking statements”. Words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “will”, “may”, “expect”, “should”, “plan”, “intend”, “estimate”, “potential”, “suggests”, and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on LAVA’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to LAVA’s initiatives to increase cost optimization and efficiencies. Many factors, risks and uncertainties may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including, among other things, LAVA’s ability to leverage its initial programs to develop additional product candidates using its Gammabody® platform, the failure of LAVA’s collaborators to support or advance collaborations or LAVA’s product candidates, the timing and results of LAVA’s research and development programs and preclinical and clinical trials, the possibility that clinical trials may fail to establish sufficient efficacy, the risk that adverse events or safety signals may occur in clinical trials, the risk that results obtained in preclinical studies or clinical trials to date may not be indicative of results obtained in ongoing or future trials, the risk that adverse regulatory actions or other setbacks could occur in clinical trials even after promising results in earlier clinical trials or preclinical studies, LAVA’s ability to obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize its product candidates, LAVA’s ability to identify any strategic alternatives or if so identified, be able to consummate any such transactions on terms acceptable to LAVA and its shareholders, and the risk that setbacks in development could occur as a result of the difficulty and uncertainty of pharmaceutical product development and other factors. There may be adverse effects on LAVA’s business condition and results from general economic and market conditions and overall fluctuations in the United States and international credit and financial markets, including as a result of inflation, heightened interest rates, recent and potential future pandemics and other health crises, and hostilities, including the conflict in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption “Risk Factors” in LAVA’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings LAVA makes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. LAVA assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, change in expectations or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
