RA Capital Bets 54 Billion Won on Preclinical Cancer Biotech

On February 26, RA Capital Management participated in Bicara Therapeutics Inc.’s (BCAX) public equity offering, committing approximately $40 million—including common shares and pre-funded warrants—equivalent to around ₩54 billion. Through this transaction, RA Capital’s affiliates acquired additional economic exposure to Bicara’s common stock via warrants structured with effectively no expiration and a condition that their aggregate ownership remain below 9.99%.

Earlier, on February 2, President and COO Ryan Cohlhepp was granted stock options on 300,000 common shares at an exercise price of $16.76 per share—representing roughly $5 million (≈₩7 billion) in equity incentives—which will vest quarterly over a four-year period.

On the same day, Bicara Therapeutics announced it had closed a $172.5 million registered stock offering, issuing approximately 8.58 million new shares and 2.2 million warrants. Proceeds from the transaction will support ongoing clinical development and general corporate purposes. Following the announcement, Bicara’s shares traded above the $16 offering price as of February 26, and the company’s market capitalization stood near $959 million.

Headquartered in Boston, Bicara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company developing bispecific antibody therapies for patients with solid tumors. Its lead candidate, ficerafusp alfa, combines an EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody with a TGF-β–binding domain and is currently in early to mid-stage clinical trials—both as monotherapy and in combination with immuno-oncology agents—for HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.