Alaunos Therapeutics Completes Velaris Acquisition; Shares Surge

11:14 AM EDT, 10/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Alaunos Therapeutics (TCRT) said Tuesday it completed its acquisition of Velaris Therapeutics, a privately held biotech company developing treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension and related cardiopulmonary diseases. The company raised about $350 million in a concurrent private placement of series C non-voting convertible preferred stock led by Fairmount. The proceeds are expected to fund Alaunos' operations into 2029 and support multiple pipeline milestones, including clinical proof-of-concept data for its lead program, VLR199, in 2028. Peter Harwin, a founding partner of Fairmount, will join Alaunos' board, according to the company. Shares of Alaunos were up nearly 126% in Tuesday trading. Price: 2.37, Change: +1.32, Percent Change: +125.71