/Aadi Bioscience Relaunches as Whitehawk Therapeutics Marking Evolution into ADC Company
NEWS

Aadi Bioscience Relaunches as Whitehawk Therapeutics Marking Evolution into ADC Company

PRNewswire
2025/03/18

Aadi Bioscience Relaunches as Whitehawk Therapeutics Marking Evolution into ADC Company

New name reflects focus on accelerating portfolio of advanced ADC therapies with speed, agility and precision

Upon closing of strategic transactions, cash expected to fund operations into 2028 enabling anticipated key clinical data readouts for its ADC assets

Company shares to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol "WHWK" effective March 19, 2025

Company reports financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024, and will host a conference call tomorrow, March 19 at 8:30 am ET

MORRISTOWN, N.J., March 18, 2025 — Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: WHWK), formerly known as Aadi Bioscience, Inc., an oncology therapeutics company applying advanced technologies to established tumor biology to efficiently deliver improved cancer treatments, today announced it changed its name to Whitehawk Therapeutics, reflecting the Company's evolution and focus on accelerating its portfolio of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with speed, agility and precision. The Company's common stock will begin trading under the ticker "WHWK" effective March 19, 2025.

The three assets in the portfolio are in-licensed from WuXi Biologics and utilize HANGZHOU DAC's advanced ADC technology platform, which consists of a highly stable yet cleavable linker that delivers a Topoisomerase I (TOPO1) inhibitor payload. The platform is coupled with clinically validated tumor targets that are upregulated in high-potential cancer indications, including lung and ovarian. These assets are engineered to produce minimal off-target toxicity, with a higher therapeutic index and greater stability than first-generation predecessors.

"Today marks a transformative moment as we reintroduce ourselves as Whitehawk Therapeutics – a focused oncology company combining science, strategy and execution to swiftly advance our portfolio of promising ADC assets," said David Lennon, President and CEO, Whitehawk Therapeutics. "By leveraging the foundation of well-established tumor biology and integrating cutting-edge technologies, our strategy is designed to address the challenges of treating the most difficult cancers efficiently and effectively. Our goal is to bring all three assets to IND in the next 15 months. Importantly, we believe our robust balance sheet will enable us to see these three assets through early clinical inflections. We are invigorated by the opportunity we have to overcome the limitations of first-generation ADCs to make a meaningful impact for patients."

Recent Operational Highlights:

  • All proposals were approved at the Company's Special Meeting of Stockholders on February 28, 2025. Subsequently, the $100 million PIPE financing closed. The closing of the divestiture of Aadi Subsidiary, Inc. ("Aadi Sub") to Kaken Pharmaceuticals ("Kaken") is pending.
  • Aadi Bioscience divided into two organizations. Upon the divestiture of Aadi Sub to Kaken, Kaken will assume ownership of Aadi Sub, including the Aadi name, trademark and the FYARRO® business. As of March 18, 2025, the Aadi parent company has become Whitehawk Therapeutics, with a focus on its portfolio of ADC assets.

Fourth Quarter and Full-year 2024 Financial Results:

  • Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of December 31, 2024, were $47.2 million as compared to $108.8 million as of December 31, 2023.
  • Following closing of the strategic transactions, we expect to have cash and cash equivalents in the range of $170 million to $180 million, including the payment of the upfront and early milestones under the Wuxi ADC agreement.
  • Total revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, was $7.2 million, and $26.0 million for the full-year ended December 31, 2024, resulting from sales of FYARRO.
  • Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $18.3 million as compared to $16.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023. Net loss for the full-year ended December 31, 2024, was $63.7 million, as compared to $65.8 million for the same period in 2023.

About the ADC Portfolio

  • HWK-007 represents a differentiated opportunity to potentially be among the first next-wave ADCs in clinical development for high PTK7 expressing cancers. HWK-007 is being evaluated in IND-enabling studies. The Phase 1 trial is planned in non-small cell lung cancer and platinum resistant ovarian cancer, with potential to expand into novel indications (e.g. gastrointestinal, gynecological).
  • HWK-016 is the first ADC that targets the membrane-bound portion of MUC16, a glycoprotein often overexpressed in cancers of female origin. HWK-016 is currently being evaluated in IND-enabling studies. The Phase 1 trial is planned in ovarian cancer, with potential to expand into additional indications (e.g. endometrial, cervical).
  • HWK-206 is designed to address the neuronal target, SEZ6, which is often overexpressed in cancers of neuroendocrine origin. HWK-206 utilizes a dual epitope binding, or biparatopic, approach which can potentially improve internalization and effectiveness of the ADC. HWK-206 is currently in candidate selection. The Phase 1 trial is planned in small-cell lung cancer and neuroendocrine neoplasms, where there are limited treatment options.

Conference Call Information

The Whitehawk management team is hosting a conference call and webcast tomorrow at 8:30 am ET (5:30 am PT) to provide a corporate update and discuss results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024.

Participants may access a live webcast of the call and the associated slide presentation on the "Investors & News" page of the Whitehawk Therapeutics website at whitehawktx.com. To participate via telephone, please register in advance at this link. Upon registration, all telephone participants will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the conference call, including the dial-in number along with a unique passcode and registrant ID that can be used to access the call. A replay of the conference call and webcast will be archived on the Company's website for at least 30 days.

About Whitehawk Therapeutics

Whitehawk Therapeutics is a preclinical stage oncology therapeutics company applying advanced technologies to established tumor biology to efficiently deliver improved cancer treatments. Whitehawk's advanced three-asset ADC portfolio is engineered to overcome the limitations of first-generation predecessors to deliver a meaningful impact for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers. These assets are in-licensed from WuXi Biologics under an exclusive development and global commercialization agreement. More information on the Company is available at www.whitehawktx.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

AADI BIOSCIENCE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

December 31,

December 31,

2024

2023

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 28,670

$ 62,888

Short-term investments

18,567

45,957

Accounts receivable, net

5,903

5,488

Inventory

5,311

6,427

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

2,836

3,826

Total current assets

61,287

124,586

Property and equipment, net

6,846

4,802

Operating lease right-of-use assets

787

1,169

Other assets

1,399

1,866

Total assets

$ 70,319

$ 132,423

Liabilities and stockholders' equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$ 2,159

$ 5,898

Accrued liabilities

14,647

14,306

Operating lease liabilities, current portion

268

434

Due to licensor payable

5,757

Total current liabilities

17,074

26,395

Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion

565

833

Other liabilities

202

Total liabilities

17,841

27,228

Stockholders' equity:

Common stock

2

2

Additional paid-in capital

385,114

374,129

Accumulated other comprehensive income

16

27

Accumulated deficit

(332,654)

(268,963)

Total stockholders' equity

52,478

105,195

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$ 70,319

$ 132,423

AADI BIOSCIENCE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except share data and earnings per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

Three months ended

Twelve months ended

December 31,

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Revenue

Product sales, net

$ 7,239

$ 6,326

$ 25,983

$ 24,354

Total Revenue

7,239

6,326

25,983

24,354

Operating expenses

Selling, general and administrative

11,051

10,345

36,749

44,549

Research and development

14,347

12,768

51,030

48,929

Restructuring charges

2,638

Cost of goods sold

790

927

3,024

2,809

Total operating expenses

26,188

24,040

93,441

96,287

Loss from operations

(18,949)

(17,714)

(67,458)

(71,933)

Other income (expense)

Foreign exchange gain (loss)

2

(4)

(1)

Interest income

676

1,500

3,925

6,400

Interest expense

(57)

(154)

(231)

Total other income (expense), net

676

1,445

3,767

6,168

Net loss

$ (18,273)

$ (16,269)

$ (63,691)

$ (65,765)

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

$ (0.67)

$ (0.60)

$ (2.36)

$ (2.44)

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted

27,086,979

26,965,909

27,029,942

26,917,967

Summary

/PRNewswire/ -- Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: WHWK), formerly known as Aadi Bioscience, Inc., an oncology therapeutics company applying advanced...