BOTHELL, Wash. — January 9, 2026 — Leads & Copy — LeonaBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: LONA), formerly Athira Pharma, Inc., announced its name change, aligning with the acquisition of rights to develop and commercialize lasofoxifene, a late-stage clinical asset for metastatic breast cancer, currently in Phase 3 trial (NCT05696626).
The company’s common stock will commence trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol “LONA” on January 12, 2026.
Mark Litton, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of LeonaBio, stated this marks an exciting and transformative period for the company, emphasizing its commitment to advancing a pipeline of innovative, late-stage assets. LeonaBio aims to accelerate their path to market and maximize their potential clinical and commercial impact, building a pipeline with the potential to change lives and create enduring value.
LeonaBio, derived from “Leona,” with Greek and Latin roots meaning lioness, reflects strength, leadership, resilience, and the company’s commitment to patients facing serious diseases. The name and ticker symbol changes do not affect the company’s legal structure, business operations, or existing financial reporting obligations, and stockholders are not required to take any action.
LeonaBio’s lead drug candidates, lasofoxifene and ATH-1105, are novel, small molecule therapies with the potential to address diseases where current treatment options are limited. Lasofoxifene targets treatment-resistant metastatic breast cancer, while ATH-1105 targets amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The ongoing Phase 3 ELAINE-3 clinical trial of lasofoxifene is over 50% enrolled, with data expected in mid-2027.
On December 18, 2025, LeonaBio announced an exclusive global license (excluding Asia and certain countries in the Middle East) from Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for lasofoxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) for metastatic breast cancer.
In conjunction with this, LeonaBio announced an upfront financing of $90 million in a private placement of common stock and warrants, with warrants exercisable for cash providing up to an additional $146 million to support the new program’s development. The financing was co-led by Commodore Capital, Perceptive Advisors, and TCGX, with participation from ADAR1, Blackstone Multi-Asset Investing, Kalehua Capital, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Spruce Street Capital, and 9vc.
The company anticipates the upfront financing will support lasofoxifene development through its topline data readout and key regulatory milestones, with sufficient capital for planned operations into 2028.
Lasofoxifene is a novel, nonsteroidal SERM with a unique binding profile, designed to confer potent activity against both wild-type and mutant estrogen receptors, including clinically significant ESR1 mutations associated with resistance to endocrine therapy in metastatic breast cancer. Phase 2 studies ELAINE-1 and ELAINE-2 have demonstrated its potential in this patient population.
The ELAINE-3 trial (NCT05696626) is evaluating lasofoxifene in combination with abemaciclib, aiming to establish a new standard of care for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated metastatic breast cancer patients.
ATH-1105 is an orally available, brain-penetrant, next-generation small molecule drug candidate designed to positively modulate the neurotrophic HGF system for potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. A Phase 2 clinical trial of ATH-1105 in ALS patients is planned for early 2026, following a Phase 1 trial (NCT06432647) with 80 healthy volunteers.
LeonaBio, headquartered in the Seattle area, develops novel therapeutics for diseases with high unmet medical needs, including treatment-resistant metastatic breast cancer and ALS. The company’s lead drug candidates, lasofoxifene and ATH-1105, are novel, small molecule therapies with the potential to address devastating diseases where current treatment options are limited.
Julie Rathbun
LeonaBio
Julie.rathbun@leonabio.com
206-769-9219
Source: LeonaBio
