Contineum's IPF Trial Sites Rise as Loss Widens

The Tip Desk · November 10, 2026 · 2 min read

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $244.5 million as of September 30, 2026, with a projected runway through mid-2029.

Contineum Therapeutics, Inc. (CTNM), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small-molecule therapies for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, reported a net loss of $18.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $12.8 million a year earlier, as spending on its lead idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis program rose.

Research and development expenses were $16.0 million, a 45 percent increase from the third quarter of 2025. The company said the increase was primarily driven by higher expenses related to the PIPE-791 IPF program and employee-related costs. General and administrative expenses were $5.0 million, a 26 percent increase from the third quarter of 2025, which the company attributed primarily to higher stock-based compensation and employee-related costs. Total operating expenses were $21.0 million.

Net loss per share was $0.49, versus $0.45 a year earlier, with weighted-average shares of 38.4 million versus 28.1 million. Interest income was $2.4 million.

The company said it initiated patient dosing in PROPEL-IPF, a global Phase 2 trial of PIPE-791 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, in the first quarter of 2026. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is evaluating once-daily oral PIPE-791 over 26 weeks in approximately 324 patients. The primary efficacy endpoint is the change from baseline through week 26 in absolute forced vital capacity.

Chief Executive Carmine Stengone said the company continued to expand its footprint for PROPEL-IPF, with over 100 sites now online in 16 countries to facilitate a steady pace of enrollment. In the second quarter the company had reported more than 55 sites in eight countries.

Stengone said lysophosphatidic acid 1 receptor antagonism as a treatment approach for pulmonary fibrosis has exceptionally strong clinical validation, with multiple trials completed including more than 1,600 patients. He said the company believes the LPAR1 class can be the ideal backbone for combination treatments, and that PIPE-791 is potentially differentiated by a favorable safety and tolerability profile, sustained target engagement, and a one-time daily low oral dose with no titration.

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $244.5 million as of September 30, 2026, versus $236.6 million as of June 30, 2026. The company said it believes its cash resources are sufficient to fund planned operations through mid-2029. Stengone said the projected cash runway extends through mid-2029, one year past the estimated completion of the IPF trial.

PIPE-307, a selective inhibitor of the M1 receptor, remains in clinical development by Johnson & Johnson for major depressive disorder. The company said it is heavily dependent on the success of PIPE-791 and PIPE-307, both of which are in the early stages of clinical development, and that neither may progress through clinical development or receive regulatory approval.

The company said it expects operating expenses to continue to significantly increase for the foreseeable future.