Keros Therapeutics, Inc.

What they do

Keros discovers and develops protein therapeutics that modulate TGF-beta family signaling to treat disorders affecting skeletal muscle, bone, adipose, heart tissue, and blood. Its lead candidate, rinvatercept, is a ligand trap designed to inhibit myostatin and activin A for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and ALS. Its most advanced candidate, elritercept, targets anemia and thrombocytopenia in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myelofibrosis; rights outside mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau were licensed to Takeda in January 2025.

Revenue drivers

• Takeda license agreement - elritercept — Exclusive license to develop and commercialize elritercept worldwide excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; recognized $244.1M revenue in 2025, including milestone payments, and $3.5M in 2024. Milestones triggered $10M and $20M upon first patient dosing in Phase 3 trials (RENEW and ELRiSE).
• Research and development operations — Primarily a clinical-stage company; revenue is driven by collaboration milestones and license fees, not product sales. No product revenue recorded in recent quarters; 2026 quarters reported revenue of $367K and $0.

Recent performance

In Q2 2026, Keros reported a net loss of $28.7M vs. $30.7M in Q2 2025, with revenue decline mainly due to 2025 Takeda-related revenue. R&D expenses fell to $22.3M from $43.5M due to elritercept expense transition and 2025 restructuring; G&A fell to $8.6M from $14.5M. Cash and cash equivalents were $257.6M as of June 30, 2026, down from $287.4M at year-end 2025. The company generated net income of $87M in 2025, its first profitable year, driven by Takeda milestone revenue.

Strategy

Keros is focusing on advancing rinvatercept through Phase 2 development for DMD and ALS, with a Phase 2 DMD trial initiated in 2026 and initial data expected in H1 2027. Elritercept's late-stage development is being executed by Takeda, while Keros retains rights in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The company completed a corporate restructuring in 2025 to reduce costs and align spending with the Takeda collaboration. Management emphasizes leveraging deep TGF-beta biology to build a proprietary pipeline of engineered therapeutics.

Risks

• Clinical-stage dependency — All product candidates are in clinical development; failure of rinvatercept or elritercept trials would materially harm the business.
• Reliance on Takeda collaboration — Revenue is heavily dependent on Takeda milestones and royalties; if Takeda delays or stops development, future revenue and program value could be impaired.
• Cash runway and funding needs — Management expects cash to fund operations into H1 2028, but substantial additional funding will be needed to complete development and commercialization; failure to raise capital could delay programs.
• Competition — Keros faces significant competition from other biopharmaceutical companies developing treatments for DMD, ALS, and cytopenias, which could limit commercial potential.

Outlook

Management expects rinvatercept Phase 2 DMD data in H1 2027 and plans to engage regulators on an ALS Phase 2 trial design in H2 2026. Takeda initiated the Phase 3 ELRiSE trial for elritercept in MDS in July 2026, triggering a $20M milestone. Keros anticipates continued net losses and expects existing cash to fund operations into the first half of 2028.