Scancell Results: Phase 3 Progress Meets a Major Funding Test

Scancell Holdings has delivered an eventful set of preliminary results. The headline numbers show a larger annual loss and a sharp reduction in cash, but the bigger story is what happened after the April year-end.

The cancer immunotherapy developer is preparing to launch a Phase 3 study of iSCIB1+, progressing its Modi-1 programme and pursuing a merger that could support a Nasdaq listing. It has also assembled a substantial funding package involving new equity, convertible debt and warrants.

That package is crucial. Without the proceeds still conditional on the merger and associated financing, Scancell says it does not currently have sufficient committed funding to cover at least 12 months of forecast cash requirements.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the full details.

Scancell's key financial figures

These preliminary figures for the year ended 30 April 2026 are unaudited.

Metric	2026	2025
Revenue	£0	£4.7 million
R&D expenses	£12.0 million	£14.7 million
Administrative expenses	£5.4 million	£4.8 million
Operating loss	£17.4 million	£15.0 million
Loss after tax	£17.9 million	£12.3 million
Net cash used in operations	£10.8 million	£6.4 million
Year-end cash	£5.3 million	£16.9 million
Net liabilities	£19.4 million	£3.8 million
Basic loss per share	1.73p	1.26p

Revenue fell to zero because the previous year included £4.7 million from Scancell's collaboration with Genmab. No comparable licence revenue was recognised in 2026.

R&D spending decreased by £2.7 million, mainly because manufacturing costs were lower, although this was partly offset by spending on developability studies. Administrative expenses rose by £0.6 million, reflecting initial legal and advisory costs connected with the proposed merger.

The absence of licence receipts and lower R&D tax credit inflows contributed to net operating cash outflow increasing to £10.8 million. Cash consequently declined by £11.6 million during the year to £5.3 million.

iSCIB1+ is moving towards Phase 3

The main operational development is the planned Phase 3 trial of iSCIB1+ in advanced melanoma.

Scancell has received US Food and Drug Administration clearance for its Investigational New Drug application and fast-track designation. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency also authorised the trial to proceed in August 2026.

The company plans to enrol approximately 550 patients with Stage IIIB or IV unresectable melanoma across the US, EU, UK, Canada and Australia. Patients will receive either iSCIB1+ alongside the checkpoint inhibitors ipilimumab and nivolumab, or a placebo alongside the same combination.

Scancell expects to start the trial later in the fourth quarter of 2026. It has engaged global contract research organisations, or CROs, to help establish trial sites, data systems and the required regulatory and safety processes.

The study design allows for the possibility of accelerated approval if the first analysis demonstrates a statistically significant progression-free survival benefit. Progression-free survival, or PFS, measures how long patients live without their cancer worsening. Full approval would subsequently depend on demonstrating an overall survival benefit.

Further PFS data from the Phase 2 SCOPE study are expected in the first half of 2027.

This is potentially a major value-creating programme, but Phase 3 trials are expensive, lengthy and clinically risky. Regulatory clearance allows the study to proceed. It does not provide evidence that the trial will succeed.

Encouraging Modi-1 data, but from a small group

The Phase 2 ModiFY study of Modi-1 is fully recruited across head and neck cancer and renal cell carcinoma.

Early head and neck cancer data showed partial responses in three of the first seven patients. That produced an overall response rate of 43% at 25 weeks from the start of treatment.

Those results are encouraging, but seven patients represent a very small dataset. Investors will need to see whether the response rate remains persuasive as more data mature. Scancell expects to report further head and neck cancer and renal cell carcinoma results later in 2026.

A separate randomised Phase 2 study of iSCIB1+ in earlier-stage melanoma is also under consideration. Its launch in the first half of 2027 remains subject to sufficient financing and regulatory clearance.

The merger and funding package

Scancell agreed an all-share merger with Neuphoria Therapeutics in July 2026. Scancell would acquire Neuphoria, with the combined company retaining the Scancell name and applying to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol SCLT.

The proposed transaction sits at the centre of the financing plan:

• A conditional private investment in public equity, or PIPE, is expected to raise $39.1 million.
• Scancell raised £15.7 million before costs through an AIM placing and retail offer in July.
• The company expects to acquire at least $10.0 million of Neuphoria's remaining cash if the merger completes.
• A BlackRock-managed loan facility provides access to as much as $25.0 million across four tranches, subject to conditions.
• Scancell intends to draw $7.0 million after shareholder approval, with another $8.0 million expected to become available following the merger, PIPE financing and progress towards opening the first Phase 3 clinical site.

Scancell expects the PIPE, UK fundraising and first two debt tranches to generate approximately $75.0 million shortly after merger completion. This would be supplemented by at least $10.0 million of Neuphoria cash. A further $10.0 million of debt could become available in 2027 if its conditions are met.

That would materially improve the company's ability to fund clinical development. However, it is not the same as having $85.0 million of unconditional cash in the bank today.

Dilution and debt cannot be ignored

The funding structure is complex and could result in considerable dilution.

Scancell's issued share capital increased from approximately 1.038 billion shares at 30 April to approximately 1.212 billion after the UK placing and retail offer. Further shares could be issued through the PIPE, conversion of the Redmile convertible loan notes, the convertible element of the BlackRock facility and associated warrants.

The BlackRock debt includes an 18-month interest-only period, after which principal and interest repayments are required. Up to $5.0 million of the first three tranches is convertible into shares at the lender's option. Warrants will also be granted in proportion to amounts drawn.

The conversion of Redmile's outstanding notes into equity would remove a major repayment obligation if the merger and PIPE complete. At 30 April, the notes were recorded at £16.8 million, with related derivative liabilities of £8.4 million.

For investors, the trade-off is clear: the financing may provide the capital needed to pursue valuable clinical milestones, but existing shareholders could own a smaller percentage of a significantly enlarged share base.

Why the going-concern warning matters

The accounts contain a material uncertainty relating to going concern.

Scancell states that, excluding proceeds still conditional on the merger and PIPE, it does not have enough committed funding to meet forecast cash requirements for at least 12 months from approval of the financial statements.

Completion depends on shareholder approvals, Nasdaq and US Securities and Exchange Commission processes, and other legal and regulatory conditions. These matters are not fully within Scancell's control.

If the transaction does not complete, the company may also need to repay outstanding Redmile notes in August and November 2027 unless they are converted or their maturity is extended. The directors acknowledge that Scancell could be unable to repay those liabilities in that scenario.

For another example of how investors can assess this type of warning, see this article on a company reporting a going-concern material uncertainty.

The milestones that now matter most

Scancell's investment case is approaching a decisive period. The clinical pipeline has advanced, with Phase 3 regulatory clearances secured and early Modi-1 activity providing another point of interest.

Yet the programme's next steps depend heavily on the merger and funding arrangements completing as planned. Investors should watch the 20 October 2026 general meeting, completion of the merger and PIPE, the first Phase 3 site opening, further ModiFY data later in 2026 and updated SCOPE data in the first half of 2027.

The Scancell Holdings company page provides a central point for following future announcements. For now, clinical progress is real, but so are the financing, dilution and execution risks attached to reaching the next set of milestones.