Ex-Akero team takes an oral IL-23 pill public through NextCure merger
Money MovesA $320 million financing backs a once-weekly psoriasis pill and lands the team a fresh Nasdaq listing under 'AVRX'.
July 14th, 2026: NextCure and Avere announce mergerNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Updated Jul 14The team that built Akero Therapeutics and sold it to Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 billion has a second act. On Tuesday, their new startup, Avere Therapeutics, agreed to merge with struggling public biotech NextCure and raised $320 million to fund it.
The deal is a reverse merger. Avere's owners will hold about 99% of the combined company, which keeps NextCure's Nasdaq listing but trades under a new ticker, AVRX. The money buys years of runway for AVR-001, an experimental pill for psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Why it matters
Millions of psoriasis patients now inject IL-23 drugs; a once-weekly pill that works as well could change how the disease is treated.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
A startup built by Akero's former leadership to develop AVR-001, an oral IL-23 drug licensed from Hansoh.
A cancer-drug developer whose pipeline stalled, now serving as the listed vehicle for Avere.
The Chinese drugmaker that discovered AVR-001 and ran its first human trials.
Timeline
December 2025 July 2026
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NextCure and Avere announce merger
Latest DealThe two companies agree to an all-stock reverse merger paired with a $320 million private placement. The combined company will trade as AVRX and pursue AVR-001.
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NextCure shares spike
MarketNextCure stock jumps roughly 300% after the announcement as traders reprice the shell around the incoming cash and pipeline.
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Novo Nordisk buys Akero
DealAndrew Cheng's Akero Therapeutics agrees to a sale worth up to $5.2 billion, freeing his team for a new venture.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Akero built and sold (2018-2025)
Andrew Cheng took over Akero Therapeutics before its IPO and built it around a liver-disease drug. In December 2025, Novo Nordisk agreed to buy the company for up to $5.2 billion.
Akero's backers and executives realized a large payout, and the team was freed to start over.
The exit gave Cheng's group the track record and investor relationships that made Avere's $320 million raise possible.
The same people, and some of the same investors, are behind Avere. Their Akero result is why this new bet drew money so fast.
Reverse merger boom in biotech (2022-2024)
With the IPO window mostly shut, dozens of private biotechs went public by merging into failing listed companies that traded below their cash. Deals often came bundled with large private placements.
Private companies got a Nasdaq listing and fresh cash without a traditional IPO.
The reverse merger became a standard path to public markets for well-funded biotechs, and a soft landing for shells like NextCure.
The NextCure-Avere deal follows this exact template: a private company with money merges into a cash-poor public shell to skip the IPO.
Oral IL-23 race heats up
Injectable IL-23 drugs like Skyrizi and Tremfya became blockbusters for psoriasis and bowel disease. Rivals including Johnson & Johnson's icotrokinra pushed to match that effect in a daily pill.
Early oral IL-23 candidates showed they could clear skin, though often less powerfully than injections.
A convenient oral drug that matches injectable efficacy could take a large share of a multibillion-dollar market.
AVR-001's pitch is once-weekly dosing with injectable-like results. That claim is what the Phase 2b trial has to prove.
