WILMINGTON, DE — Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated (Nasdaq: PRLD) narrowed its second-quarter loss by more than half and cut research spending as the precision oncology company prepares to move a breast cancer drug candidate into human testing while extending its cash runway into the second quarter of 2028.
Prelude reported a net loss of $13.9 million, or 14 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of $31.2 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.
Research and development expenses fell 38% to $16.1 million from $25.8 million. The decline reflected lower spending on SMARCA2 clinical trials paused in 2025, reduced stock-based compensation and lower personnel costs following a workforce reduction in the second half of last year.
General and administrative expenses declined to $5 million from $6.4 million, also driven primarily by lower stock-based compensation and employee-related expenses.
Prelude ended June with $155.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities. The company expects those resources to finance operations into the second quarter of 2028, giving it roughly two years of funding as several oncology programs advance.
The company’s most immediate development milestone is PRT13722, an oral KAT6A degrader being developed for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Subject to clearance of its investigational new drug application, Prelude expects to begin a Phase 1 study in the fourth quarter.
Prelude presented preclinical findings on PRT13722 at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting earlier this year. The company is seeking to determine whether selectively degrading KAT6A can offer advantages over drugs that inhibit both KAT6A and KAT6B, though those potential benefits have not yet been established clinically.
Enrollment is also continuing in a Phase 1 trial of PRT12396 in patients with polycythemia vera and myelofibrosis. The FDA cleared the investigational new drug application for the mutant-selective JAK2V617F inhibitor in February.
The JAK2V617F mutation is found in about 95% of patients with polycythemia vera and in roughly 55% of those with myelofibrosis, according to Prelude. The company is developing PRT12396 to selectively target cells carrying the mutation.
Prelude’s JAK2V617F program is covered by an exclusive option agreement with Incyte that was entered into in November 2025. The company is also working on next-generation candidates within the program.
A separate discovery effort targets mutated calreticulin, or mCALR, which Prelude said is found in approximately 25% to 35% of patients with myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia. Prelude is developing degrader antibody conjugates designed to target the mutation and said it is progressing lead development candidates from the wholly owned program.
The company is separately developing SMARCA2/4 and CDK9 degrader payloads for use in next-generation degrader antibody conjugates. Prelude has an existing partnership with AbCellera and is making the payload technology available for licensing to additional partners.
Chief Executive Officer Kris Vaddi said the company is positioned to start the PRT13722 trial in the fourth quarter while continuing enrollment in the PRT12396 study and advancing candidates from the mCALR program.
Prelude also appointed Charles Morris as chief medical officer in April.
Stock-based compensation included in second-quarter operating expenses totaled $2 million, down from $3.8 million a year earlier, with the decrease partly reflecting the company’s smaller workforce.
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