Helio Therapeutics, Inc.
Healthcare · Clinical-stage biotech
- Expected pricing
- —
- Price range
- Not yet set
- Shares offered
- —
- Filing
- S-1 · Jun 9, 2026
Founders & leadership
Background and track record, from the Management section.
- Dr. Amara OkonkwoFounder, CEO & Chief Scientific Officer
Immunologist who spun Helio out of an academic lab in 2019 to advance a small-molecule program for autoimmune disease. Previously led discovery teams at two clinical-stage biotechs.
Source
“Dr. Okonkwo founded Helio in 2019 and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer since inception.”
High confidenceView in filing →
What the company does
The problem it solves and how it differentiates.
Helio is a clinical-stage biotech developing an oral small-molecule therapy for moderate-to-severe autoimmune conditions. Its lead candidate, HT-204, is in Phase 2; the company has no approved products and no recurring revenue.
Source
“We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Our lead product candidate, HT-204, is currently in Phase 2 clinical development. We have not generated any revenue from product sales.”
Financials
Revenue, profitability, and cash, from the financial statements.
- Net income
- $(61.3)M net loss (FY2025)
- Cash & equivalents
- $118.5M
- Burn rate
- ~$16M/quarter
Source
“Net loss was $61.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $44.7 million in 2024.”
Source
“As of March 31, 2026, we had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $118.5 million.”
Source
“We used $63.9 million of cash in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2025.”
Pre-revenue. Cash runway, not growth, is the number that matters — the going-concern and dilution risks below follow directly from the burn.
Lock-up schedule & insider ownership
When insider shares unlock, and who holds them — the part most tools skip.
Lock-up schedule
When insider shares unlock signals when selling pressure may arrive. Conditional unlocks have no fixed date and are shown as such — they are not collapsed to a single guessed date.
- Directors, officers & pre-IPO holders38.9M sharesDec 12, 2026
180 days after the offering — standard lock-up for directors, officers, and pre-IPO holders.
Source
“Our directors, officers and holders of substantially all of our capital stock have agreed not to dispose of any shares for 180 days after the date of this prospectus.”
High confidenceView in filing → - Directors, officers & pre-IPO holdersShare count not disclosedNo fixed dateDiscretionary
The underwriters may, in their sole discretion, release some or all of the locked-up shares before the 180-day date. No share count is committed.
Source
“The representatives of the underwriters may, in their sole discretion and at any time, release all or any portion of the shares subject to the lock-up agreements.”
Medium confidenceView in filing →
Insider ownership
Beneficial ownership as reported in the S-1 (includes shares deemed beneficially owned via options and affiliated entities). Percentages are beneficial, not record, ownership.
| Holder | Shares | % pre-IPO | % post-IPO | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr. Amara Okonkwo Founder, CEO & CSO | 8.2M | 21.5% | — | Source“Dr. Okonkwo beneficially owns 8,200,000 shares, representing 21.5% prior to this offering.” High confidenceView in filing → |
Beacon Life Sciences Principal stockholder (5%+) | 10.7M | 28.1% | — | Source“Beacon Life Sciences Fund II beneficially owns 10,700,000 shares, representing 28.1% prior to this offering.” High confidenceView in filing → |
Risk flags
Key items from the Risk Factors section.
- Going-concern / capital needs
No revenue and a high burn rate mean the company will need substantial additional financing to reach any approval.
Source
“We will require substantial additional capital to fund our operations, and our existing cash will not be sufficient to complete clinical development of HT-204.”
High confidenceView in filing → - Clinical and regulatory risk
A single lead candidate in Phase 2; failure in trials or at the FDA would remove most of the company’s value.
Source
“Our business depends substantially on the success of HT-204, which may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy or to obtain regulatory approval.”
High confidenceView in filing → - No approved products
The company has never commercialized a product and has no marketing or sales infrastructure.
Source
“We have never generated revenue from product sales and may never become profitable.”
Medium confidenceView in filing →