AC Immune SA (ACIU) H1 2026 Earnings: Revenue CHF 16M (+607.0%)
ACIU — H1 2026 Financial Report Analysis
H1 (Interim) · Fiscal year 2026 · Published by Pham Hop
AC Immune's H1 2026 loss shrank 68% to CHF 12.9 million on a one-off CHF 11.0 million Lilly payment and a third less R&D spending; CHF 75.4 million in cash funds it into Q4 2027.
Revenue
CHF 16M
+607.0% YoY
Net income
-CHF 13M
Diluted EPS
CHF -0.13
Operating margin
-83.8%
This period vs a year ago
Same period last year
This period
Revenue▲+607.0%
≈CHF 2.3M
CHF 16M
Year-ago figures (≈) are worked out from the growth rate the company reported. Each row has its own scale.
Partner cheques cut the loss by two-thirds, but the underlying cash burn is still about CHF 26.6 million a half
AC Immune, a Lausanne-based drug developer working on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, has no products on sale. Its income comes from larger drug companies that license its programs and pay upfront fees and "milestone" payments when trials hit agreed steps. In the first half of 2026 (January–June) that income jumped to CHF 16.2 million from CHF 2.3 million a year earlier. CHF 11.0 million of it came from Eli Lilly for an amended deal on Tau small molecules, and CHF 5.2 million from Takeda for its work on the Alzheimer's vaccine ACI-24. At the same time, research spending fell by a third after the September 2025 reorganization. The net loss shrank to CHF 12.9 million from CHF 40.2 million. Figures are in Swiss francs (CHF) under IFRS, the international accounting standard. The company is a "foreign private issuer" that reports half-yearly on Form 6-K, not quarterly on a 10-Q.
At a glance
Revenue CHF 16.2 million (+607%): about two-thirds of it (CHF 11.0 million) was a one-time Lilly upfront fee plus a milestone, so it will not repeat every half.
Net loss CHF 12.9 million, down 68%: of the CHF 27.3 million improvement, CHF 13.9 million came from higher partner revenue, CHF 11.2 million from lower operating costs (CHF 10.5 million of it R&D) and CHF 2.1 million from currency gains and other finance items.
CHF 75.4 million in cash and short-term deposits (CHF 91.4 million at end-2025): management says this lasts "into Q4 2027" without counting any further milestone payments.
Results in numbers
Metric
H1 2026
H1 2025
YoY Change
Revenue (contract revenue)
CHF 16.2m
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CHF 2.3m
+607.0%
– of which Lilly
CHF 11.0m
–
new
– of which Takeda
CHF 5.2m
CHF 2.3m
+127.9%
Research & development expense
CHF 22.2m
CHF 32.7m
−32.1%
General & administrative expense
CHF 7.7m
CHF 8.3m
−7.4%
Operating loss
CHF −13.6m
CHF −38.8m
loss 64.9% smaller
Operating margin
−83.8%
n.m. (loss ~17x revenue)
–
Net loss
CHF −12.9m
CHF −40.2m
loss 67.9% smaller
Loss per share (basic and diluted)
CHF −0.13
CHF −0.40
loss 67.5% smaller
Cash used in operations
CHF −15.6m
CHF −34.4m
54.5% less
Cash + short-term deposits (period-end)
CHF 75.4m
CHF 91.4m (Dec 31, 2025)
−CHF 16.0m in six months
Operating margin is the share of revenue left after running the business, before interest and tax. For a company still developing drugs it is deeply negative. It is shown here only because it narrowed so sharply.
Where the revenue came from
Lilly: CHF 11.0 million. In April 2026 AC Immune and Lilly amended their 2018 agreement on "Morphomer" small molecules. These are pills designed to stop the Tau protein from clumping inside brain cells in Alzheimer's disease. AC Immune received a CHF 10.0 million upfront fee when it delivered a new preclinical data package, then a CHF 1.0 million milestone. The filing says both were "fully recognized as contract revenue" in the half because the work they paid for was complete. A further milestone is due when a Phase 1 trial doses its first patient. The deal carries potential milestones of over CHF 1.7 billion, plus low-double-digit royalties.
Takeda: CHF 5.2 million, up from CHF 2.3 million. It has two parts. CHF 2.1 million came from the original 2024 deal, under which Takeda paid USD 100 million upfront. CHF 3.1 million came from a new USD 12.0 million (CHF 9.5 million) milestone, triggered in April when the first patient was treated in a fourth group of the ABATE trial of ACI-24. This group, "Cohort AD4", tests the vaccine with an extra ingredient meant to strengthen the immune response. The company books that milestone gradually as it does the work. The other CHF 6.4 million is held back as deferred revenue and should be recognized within 12 months.
Why costs fell
R&D dropped CHF 10.5 million, to CHF 22.2 million. The filing splits the drop into four parts:
ACI-24 clinical costs down CHF 4.5 million, "primarily due to manufacturing costs incurred in the prior period which did not recur". This was a one-off in the comparison year, not a lasting saving.
Payroll in R&D down CHF 2.3 million, "as a result of reduced headcount following the reorganization in Q3 of 2025". Other unallocated R&D support costs fell a further CHF 1.1 million.
Discovery and preclinical work down CHF 2.6 million, with less activity on early programs such as the MorADC program and PET imaging tracers.
Pushing the other way: ACI-19764, an NLRP3 pill, up CHF 1.9 million as it entered its first human trial in February. NLRP3 is part of the immune system that drives chronic inflammation.
G&A (administrative costs) fell CHF 0.6 million, almost entirely from lower salaries after the same reorganization.
What the headline numbers hide
The revenue is lumpy, not recurring. CHF 11.0 million of the CHF 16.2 million came from one amended Lilly deal. Without it, revenue would have been CHF 5.2 million, and the operating loss about CHF 24.6 million rather than CHF 13.6 million. Expect a much weaker revenue line in any half without a new deal or milestone.
Underlying cash burn is higher than it looks. Operations used CHF 15.6 million of cash, but that already includes the CHF 11.0 million Lilly received. Without it the burn would have been about CHF 26.6 million for the half (our calculation from the cash flow statement). The Takeda milestone had not yet been paid by June 30. It sits in accounts receivable as USD 12.0 million (CHF 9.8 million), money owed to the company that should arrive later. Receivables rising from zero is timing, not a warning sign. The cash simply lands in the second half.
The biggest liability is not cash owed. The balance sheet shows CHF 89.5 million of short-term "deferred contract revenue". Most of it (CHF 84.0 million) is Takeda's 2024 upfront payment, already received and spent or banked. It will turn into revenue as AC Immune completes its obligations or when Takeda decides whether to exercise its option on ACI-24. It is an accounting deferral, not a bill to pay. But it means shareholders' equity is only CHF 35.2 million against CHF 150.4 million of assets.
Currency helped. Exchange-rate movements added CHF 0.4 million this half versus a CHF 2.5 million loss a year earlier, mostly from the Swiss franc against the US dollar. Interest income fell to CHF 0.4 million from CHF 1.1 million on lower rates and smaller deposits.
Loss per share improved from operations, not from share tricks. There were no buybacks. Only CHF 0.6 million was raised by selling treasury shares through an at-the-market program (selling shares gradually into the market). Share-based pay was a steady non-cash CHF 2.6 million.
The "going concern" test is met, but only on a 12-month view. Management's assessment in these unaudited statements says the company can pay its bills for at least 12 months. It also warns it will "need substantial additional funding" to finish its planned trials.
Takeaway: The two-thirds smaller loss is real on costs: R&D is structurally lower after the 2025 reorganization. But most of the revenue jump was a one-time Lilly payment. Stripped of that, AC Immune still uses roughly CHF 25–27 million a half, so its CHF 75.4 million pays for about two more years of work. That makes the next milestone cheques, especially Takeda's option decision on ACI-24, the real swing factor.
Pipeline news during and after the half
ACI-7104 (Parkinson's vaccine, wholly owned). A USD 4 million grant from The Vijay and Marie Goradia Charitable Foundation extends Part 1 of the Phase 2 VacSYn trial. Most of the grant is booked as deferred income, with CHF 0.1 million recognized so far. After the period, the FDA granted Fast Track designation on August 11, which can speed up review. On September 23 the company reported week-100 Part 1 results for all 34 patients (25 on the drug, nine on placebo). All primary endpoints were met: safety, tolerability and immune response. 100% of treated patients developed antibodies after three doses. Part 1 was not designed to show whether the drug slows the disease. The company calls signals on biomarkers "preliminary" and says FDA meetings on Part 2 are expected in early 2027.
ACI-19764 (NLRP3 inhibitor, wholly owned). On August 20 the company reported preliminary Phase 1 data in healthy volunteers. The drug was safe and well tolerated with no serious adverse events, and it reached the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. A cohort of patients with cardiovascular risk and high hsCRP (a blood marker of inflammation) is now being dosed. Initial results are expected by year-end and full results in H1 2027.
ACI-24 (Alzheimer's vaccine, with Takeda). Twelve-month interim data from the first 74 patients showed no ARIA-E, the brain swelling seen with some approved Alzheimer's antibody drugs. Antibody responses appeared at every dose. Cohort AD4 is now dosing.
ACI-35 / JNJ-2056 (with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen). Enrollment in the Phase 2b ReTain trial was paused in February 2026 while Janssen seeks a protocol amendment. The study continues with about 60 patients already enrolled. This partnered asset has lost momentum this year.
Leadership. Co-founder and CEO Andrea Pfeifer retired at the June AGM. Chair Martin Zügel is interim CEO while a search continues. An October 2 extraordinary general meeting will vote on adding former Vertex CFO Tom Graney to the board.
Outlook
Management gives no revenue or loss guidance, which is normal for a company at this stage. Its one financial forecast is the cash runway "into Q4 2027", excluding milestones. Our rough check agrees. CHF 75.4 million in cash, plus the CHF 9.8 million Takeda receivable and the USD 4 million grant, against an underlying burn of about CHF 25–27 million per half, runs out around late 2027. The catalysts that could move that date are all partner decisions or data:
Takeda's option on ACI-24. The fee is in the "low-to-mid nine-figure USD range" (on our reading, a few hundred million dollars). Exercising it would fund the company for years. Declining it would remove the largest potential payment.
The Lilly milestone tied to first Phase 1 dosing of a Tau Morphomer.
NLRP3 patient data (hsCRP) around year-end. This is the first test of whether ACI-19764 actually lowers inflammation in people. It is also the kind of result that could support a new partnership.
The FDA's feedback on VacSYn Part 2 in early 2027. This decides how large and costly the next Parkinson's trial will be.
Our read: after the reorganization the cash cost base runs at roughly CHF 50–55 million a year, but the balance sheet has no room for a long gap between payments. Unless a Takeda option payment or a new partnership lands in 2027, raising new equity would likely be needed before the end of 2027. That would dilute existing shareholders.