Starpharma (ASX:SPL) closes FY26 with A$11m cash and a HER2-Lu Phase 1 shot

The pivot to radiopharmaceuticals is now the whole story, and 3.5 quarters of runway sets the clock

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) has closed out FY26 with a quarterly report that reframes the investment case around one drug candidate and one therapeutic modality. The company finished June with A$11.0 million in cash and confirmed that DEP HER2-Lu, its lead radiopharmaceutical, is on track for a first-in-human Phase 1 study in the second half of calendar 2026.

For a company that spent much of last year riding the Genentech collaboration headlines, this quarterly is a reminder that partnerships pay the bills but proprietary assets create the re-rating. DEP HER2-Lu is now the proprietary asset the market will judge Starpharma on.

Radioligand therapy, in plain English, means attaching a radioactive payload to a molecule that seeks out cancer cells and delivers a targeted dose of radiation. It is one of the hottest corners of oncology right now, with Novartis’s Pluvicto having proven the commercial model.

Starpharma’s angle is that its dendrimer carriers, tiny branched molecules, can improve tumour uptake and reduce off-target damage compared with existing radioligand designs. The preclinical data supports that claim across three targets. The next 18 months will test whether it holds up in patients.

HER2-Lu is the asset, gastric cancer is the wedge

The company is initially targeting HER2-positive gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction cancers. This is a deliberate choice because roughly 75 to 80% of gastric cancer patients treated with the current standard-of-care antibody drug conjugate Enhertu progress within 12 months. That is a large and underserved patient population sitting behind an already-approved therapy.

The preclinical data released on 2 July showed strong tumour uptake, low kidney accumulation and short blood circulation time, all of which matter because kidney toxicity is the classic dose-limiting problem with radioligand therapies. If the clinical data replicates the preclinical profile, HER2-Lu could differentiate on the safety side as well as efficacy.

FDA feedback in April cleared the regulatory pathway, GMP dendrimer manufacture is done, and a European lead clinical site is being finalised. The remaining unknowns are logistical rather than scientific, which is a much better place to be sitting three months out from dosing.

The Radiopharm milestone is small money, big signal

The A$0.5 million option fee from Radiopharm Theranostics is not going to change the cash position. What it does do is validate that a second independent party is willing to pay to keep exclusive rights to Starpharma’s dendrimer platform in radiopharmaceuticals live.

The bigger prize sits on the other side of the option. Full exercise would trigger up to A$91 million in milestone payments plus royalties. That is real commercial optionality on top of the Genentech deal already in the portfolio.

Our take is that the market has probably underweighted how quickly Starpharma has pivoted from a general drug delivery platform into a focused radiopharmaceutical story. Two partnerships and a proprietary Phase 1 candidate inside 18 months is disciplined execution by biotech standards.

The cash burn math is where the tension sits

Operating cash outflow for the quarter was A$3.2 million, which puts Starpharma at roughly 3.5 quarters of funding at the current run rate. Phase 1 studies are not cheap, and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing carries costs that traditional small-molecule trials do not.

FY26 customer receipts jumped 149% to A$12.3 million thanks to the Genentech upfront, and net operating outflow fell to A$3.2 million for the full year against A$6.8 million in FY25. That is real progress on the cash discipline side, but the FY26 receipt line was flattered by a one-off payment that will not repeat in FY27.

The skeptical read is that Starpharma will need to either land another partnership milestone or raise capital before the Phase 1 read-out. Given the current market cap and the near-term catalyst calendar, a raise before the clinic starts would sting more than one after early data.

The Investors Takeaway for Starpharma

Starpharma has done the hard yards to get DEP HER2-Lu to the clinic, and the surrounding platform work on PSMA and EGFR gives the business a modular radiopharmaceutical story that partners are clearly interested in. The setup entering FY27 is the strongest it has been in years, but the financing clock is now running against the clinical clock.

Investors watching this name should focus on three things over the next two quarters. First, confirmation that first patient dosing has occurred. Second, any movement on the Radiopharm option exercise. Third, how management chooses to fund the Phase 1 through to interim data.

Our previous coverage of the Genentech deal at stocksdownunder explains why platform validation matters so much for this business, and why HER2-Lu is now the asset that must carry the story forward.