Relay Therapeutics Q2 2026 earnings: Clinical spending rises with cash runway into 2029

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RLAY) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $0.4 million, down from $0.7 million a year earlier, while GAAP net loss per share was unchanged at $0.41. Net loss widened to $83.7 million as spending increased across zovegalisib clinical trials, but the May equity offering lifted cash, cash equivalents and investments to $910.9 million and supported an expected runway into 2029.

Core financial results

Relay remains a clinical-stage company with limited revenue, all of which came from its exclusive license agreement with Elevar Therapeutics. The decline in quarterly revenue was modest in dollar terms; the main driver of the wider loss was a $12.6 million increase in research and development expense.

Operating expenses increased approximately 18% as higher clinical trial costs outweighed savings from earlier efforts to streamline the research organization.

The per-share loss remained unchanged despite the larger net loss because the weighted-average share count increased substantially from the prior-year quarter.

Zovegalisib drives the clinical agenda

Breast cancer

Relay continued enrolling the Phase 3 ReDiscover-2 trial of zovegalisib plus fulvestrant in patients with PI3Kα-mutated, CDK4/6-pretreated, HR-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.

For first-line development, the company selected zovegalisib plus atirmociclib and endocrine therapy as its go-forward triplet regimen. In heavily pretreated patients receiving the combination at unoptimized doses, Relay reported a 44% objective response rate. Responses were similar across kinase and non-kinase PIK3CA mutations, while adverse events were consistent with those previously reported for the individual drugs.

Relay plans to begin a Phase 3 first-line trial in endocrine-sensitive breast cancer in early 2027, subject to regulatory feedback. Pfizer agreed to provide atirmociclib for the experimental arm and palbociclib for part of the control arm, while Relay will retain full global rights to zovegalisib.

Vascular anomalies and RLY-8161

Initial Phase 1/2 ReInspire data showed that 60% of adults and adolescents in the dose-randomization portion achieved a volumetric response at the earliest assessment point of 12 weeks. Nearly all patients experienced symptomatic improvement at that time, according to the company.

Relay has opened expansion cohorts for adults and adolescents and is continuing dose escalation in children ages 6 to 11. These findings remain early-stage results and require confirmation as enrollment and follow-up expand.

The company also continued its Phase 1/2 study of RLY-8161 in NRAS-mutant melanoma and other NRAS-mutant solid tumors, but it did not provide new clinical data for that program.

Clinical expansion increased losses, while financing extended the runway

Higher zovegalisib trial costs were the principal reason R&D expense rose during the quarter. Previous decisions to streamline the research organization partially offset that increase. G&A expense also rose, primarily because of higher legal costs, although lower employee compensation and stock-based compensation provided an offset.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments increased by $268.8 million from March 31 to $910.9 million at June 30. The increase was primarily financing-driven: Relay raised approximately $316 million in gross proceeds through a follow-on public offering in May. The company expects its available capital to fund operating expenses and capital expenditures into 2029.

Relay ended the quarter with $877.3 million of working capital and $77.4 million of total liabilities. This liquidity gives the company time to execute multiple clinical programs, although trial spending is rising as zovegalisib advances into larger studies.

Clinical outlook and milestones

The next updates are concentrated around zovegalisib in breast cancer and vascular anomalies. Several milestones are expected by the end of 2026, followed by a planned Phase 3 launch and additional triplet data in 2027.

Recent insider transactions

The supplied insider data show 467,805 shares sold across 15 transactions and 270,814 shares acquired across five transactions during the latest six-month period. That produced net reported selling of 196,991 shares, with the reported net-purchase measure at negative 7.10%.

The 10 latest reported transactions included eight sales and two stock awards. All were reported as direct holdings; stock awards are grants rather than open-market purchases.

Risks investors should monitor

• Early clinical results may not carry into later trials. The 44% breast cancer response rate and 60% vascular-anomaly volumetric response came from early-stage clinical work. Larger or randomized studies may produce different outcomes.
• The first-line Phase 3 plan depends on regulatory feedback. Relay expects to confirm the trial design by year-end 2026, and the proposed early-2027 start remains conditional.
• Clinical costs and losses are increasing. R&D expense rose approximately 20%, while quarterly net loss widened to $83.7 million. The expected runway into 2029 depends on future operating and capital expenditure requirements.
• Results are concentrated around zovegalisib. Most of the company’s near-term clinical and regulatory milestones involve this program, increasing the importance of its trial execution and data quality.
• The share base has expanded. Weighted-average shares rose approximately 18% year over year. Investors should monitor how future financing and equity compensation affect per-share results.

Summary

Relay Therapeutics’ Q2 2026 results reflected the economics of advancing a lead drug into multiple clinical settings: trial spending increased and the net loss widened, while revenue remained limited. The May offering provided a larger liquidity cushion and an expected runway into 2029. The principal issues now are whether zovegalisib’s early breast cancer and vascular-anomaly findings hold up in later development and whether Relay can execute its planned regulatory and clinical milestones on schedule.