Affimed N.V. (AFMD): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a biotech company with a clinical-stage platform showing an 85.7% overall response rate (ORR) in refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma patients end up facing a Nasdaq delisting notice and filing for insolvency in May 2025? Affimed N.V. (AFMD), the Innate Cell Engager (ICE ${}^{\text{TM}}$) pioneer, presents a classic biotech paradox, where scientific promise from its proprietary ROCK ${}^{\text{TM}}$ platform clashes violently with the near-term financial reality of a stock trading around $0.18 per share as of May 2025. This is a high-stakes lesson in capital markets and drug development, so understanding the company's history, its unique mechanism of action, and how its revenue model failed to sustain its cash runway into late Q4 2025 is defintely critical. Are you equipped to separate the value of the science from the risk of the balance sheet?

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) History

You're looking for the foundational story of Affimed N.V., and honestly, it's a classic biotech narrative of ambitious science meeting tough market realities. This company, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology firm, was built on the promise of redirecting the body's innate immune system to fight cancer, but its trajectory has been dramatically reshaped by a critical financial event in the first half of 2025.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

Affimed N.V. was established in 2000 as Affimed Therapeutics B.V.

Original location

The company originated in the innovative research environment of Heidelberg, Germany, closely linked to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

Founding team members

The company's scientific foundation is credited to key research leadership, with Prof. Melvyn Little, Ph.D., listed as a founder.

Initial capital/funding

Initial capital was secured through early-stage venture capital investments, which funded the development of its proprietary antibody engineering platforms. This is typical for a biotech firm needing significant runway for pre-clinical development.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's journey is defined by two major shifts: the validation of its technology and the ultimate challenge of sustaining operations through late-stage clinical trials. For a biopharma company, the science is only half the battle; financing the path to market is the other.

The 2018 partnership with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, was a massive validation of Affimed's Redirected Optimized Cell Killing (ROCK®) platform, which engineers Innate Cell Engagers (ICE®) molecules. The potential for $5.0 billion in milestone payments was a strong signal of the platform's promise in the immuno-oncology space. This deal provided significant non-dilutive capital, which is the lifeblood of a clinical-stage firm.

The most recent and defintely most transformative moment is the financial distress in 2025. Despite having $26.88 million in cash (Last Twelve Months, or TTM, data as of August 2025) and TTM revenue of only $6.29 million, the company's operating losses were simply too great, leading to the insolvency filing. This resulted in the Nasdaq delisting in May 2025, moving the stock to the OTC market under the symbol AFMDQ. This is a stark reminder that even promising science, like the development of AFM13 and AFM24, requires continuous, substantial financing to overcome the high burn rate-the TTM net loss was a staggering -$78.04 million.

• Securing the Genentech collaboration provided a massive financial and scientific endorsement, a pivotal moment of external validation.
• The official name change to Affimed N.V. in October 2014 streamlined the corporate identity following the IPO.
• The May 2025 insolvency filing fundamentally altered the company's structure and financial prospects, shifting its focus from clinical development to financial restructuring.

If you want to understand the strategic thinking behind their programs and corporate goals before this event, you should review their forward-looking statements. Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Affimed N.V. (AFMD).

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Ownership Structure

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) has an extremely fragmented ownership structure as of the 2025 fiscal year, with a negligible insider stake and a very low institutional presence, meaning the company is overwhelmingly controlled by the general public.

This wide dissemination of shares, coupled with a significant stock price decline-from $3.66 per share in November 2024 to $0.18 per share by May 2025-indicates a major shift in institutional confidence and a high concentration of risk among retail investors.

Affimed N.V.'s Current Status

Affimed N.V. is a publicly traded, clinical-stage immuno-oncology company. It is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (NasdaqGM) under the ticker symbol AFMD, though a recent ticker change to AFMDQ in some reports suggests the company is facing significant financial distress or delisting risk.

As a Dutch Naamloze Vennootschap (N.V.), its governance is structured with a Management Board responsible for day-to-day operations and a separate Supervisory Board overseeing strategy and management. This two-tier system is common in European companies.

• Understand the risks: A high retail ownership percentage often translates to higher stock volatility.

To be fair, the company's focus on its Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) technology for solid and hematologic tumors is compelling, but the market is defintely pricing in high execution risk. You can dive deeper into the shareholder landscape here: Exploring Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Affimed N.V.'s Ownership Breakdown

The ownership breakdown for the 2025 fiscal year shows a striking lack of institutional and insider conviction, a stark contrast to the institutional ownership of over 50% seen in prior years. The low institutional stake means fewer sophisticated investors are actively monitoring or influencing management decisions.

Affimed N.V.'s Leadership

The company is steered by an experienced, though recently adjusted, leadership team with diverse backgrounds in life sciences and oncology. The Management Board executes the strategy, while the Supervisory Board provides oversight.

The appointment of a new CEO in late 2024 was a crucial move to stabilize the company and drive its clinical programs forward. Here's the quick math: new leadership plus critical clinical trial data (like the AFM24-102 trial) are the two main variables to watch right now.

• Shawn M. Leland, PharmD, RPh: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), appointed in September 2024.
• Dr. Wolfgang Fischer: Chief Operating Officer (COO), reappointed in June 2024.
• Dr. Andreas Harstrick: Chief Medical Officer (CMO), who served as acting CEO until September 2024.
• Harry Welten: Consulting Chief Financial Officer (CFO), mentioned in the January 2025 corporate presentation.
• Dr. Thomas Hecht: Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The Management Board is responsible for navigating the company's cash runway and clinical development milestones, especially for its lead candidates like Acimtamig (AFM13) and AFM24. Given the low stock price, their ability to secure new financing is paramount.

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Mission and Values

Affimed N.V. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose core purpose is to fight cancer by mobilizing the body's own immune system, a mission that now faces the stark financial reality of its May 2025 insolvency filing.

Their cultural DNA centers on translating cutting-edge immunotherapy (a treatment that uses the body's own immune system to fight disease) into tangible patient benefit, but the path to commercialization is incredibly capital-intensive. Honestly, the company's financial health, with a net loss of -$78.04 million and operating cash flow of -$85.77 million in the last 12 months leading up to August 2025, shows how hard it is to fund this kind of life-saving research.

Affimed N.V.'s Core Purpose

The company's existence is tied directly to engineering proprietary Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) molecules, which are designed to redirect natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages to attack tumor cells. This scientific focus is the foundation of their non-financial goals.

Here's the quick math on the challenge: to achieve their vision, they need to advance their pipeline, but their net cash position was only about $12.50 million as of the August 2025 balance sheet date.

Official mission statement

Affimed N.V. dedicates its efforts to leveraging the power of innate immunity to combat cancer, underpinned by values emphasizing scientific excellence, patient focus, and collaborative innovation. This commitment forms the bedrock of their therapeutic development programs, even as the company navigates its restructuring following the May 2025 insolvency filing.

• Scientific Excellence: Develop Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) molecules via the proprietary ROCK® platform.
• Patient Focus: Aim to significantly improve the lives of patients with hematologic and solid tumors.
• Collaborative Innovation: Rely on strategic partnerships for funding and complementary technology.

Vision statement

The company's vision is bold: to become a leading immuno-oncology company by developing and commercializing transformative therapies that significantly improve patients' lives. This vision is the ultimate long-term aspiration, but its pursuit is now tied to the complex process of an OTC-listed entity (AFMDQ) post-Nasdaq delisting.

What this estimate hides is the sheer cost of late-stage clinical development, which is the necessary step to realize this vision. You can see a deeper dive into these numbers here: Breaking Down Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Affimed N.V. slogan/tagline

While an official, universally promoted slogan isn't defintely highlighted, Affimed N.V. frequently communicates its focus with phrases centered on:

• Redirecting the Immune System to Cure Cancer.

This phrase encapsulates their core technology-using the patient's own innate immune system-and their ultimate goal of achieving a cure, not just management. It's a powerful statement of intent, but one that requires immense financial fortitude to back up.

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) How It Works

Affimed N.V. historically operated as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing cancer immunotherapies using its proprietary Innate Cell Engager (ICE) molecules, which are designed to harness the patient's own innate immune cells, such as Natural Killer (NK) cells, to fight tumors. As of November 2025, however, the company's operations are effectively suspended following its May 13, 2025, filing for insolvency in Germany, meaning its value is now tied to the potential sale or licensing of its technology and pipeline assets.

Affimed N.V.'s Product/Service Portfolio

The company's primary value resided in its clinical-stage pipeline, which advanced its proprietary ICE molecules into human trials. These assets are now subject to the ongoing insolvency proceedings, but their clinical data represents the core of the company's intellectual property.

Affimed N.V.'s Operational Framework

Prior to the insolvency filing, Affimed N.V.'s operational model was a pure-play research and development (R&D) engine, not a commercial enterprise, which is why its trailing twelve-month revenue was only about $6.28 million around the time of the filing.

• R&D Focus: The company's primary activity was funding and executing clinical trials for its lead candidates, AFM13 and AFM24, and advancing earlier-stage molecules like AFM28 and AFM32.
• Platform-Driven Drug Discovery: Value creation centered on the ROCK platform (Redirected Optimized Cell Killing), a proprietary technology used to generate the bispecific and tetravalent ICE molecules. This platform allowed for the customizable creation of antibodies that link an immune cell to a cancer cell.
• Collaboration Model: Affimed N.V. relied heavily on strategic partnerships, such as those with Artiva Biotherapeutics and Genentech, to fund development and potentially commercialize assets, which was the main source of operating capital and revenue.
• Current Status: Following the May 2025 insolvency filing, this operational framework has been dismantled. The focus is now on the German court-appointed insolvency administrator managing the remaining assets, intellectual property, and clinical data to find a buyer or partner to continue the development of the pipeline.

Affimed N.V.'s Strategic Advantages

The company's strategic edge was rooted in its differentiated technology, which created valuable intellectual property now available to potential buyers. That advantage, however, was not enough to overcome the funding challenges that led to the insolvency in May 2025.

• Differentiated Mechanism of Action: The ICE molecules specifically engage CD16A on innate immune cells (NK cells and macrophages), which is a crucial difference from T-cell engagers. This approach is designed to provide a rapid, potent, and non-MHC-restricted (not limited by a person's specific immune markers) anti-tumor response.
• Off-the-Shelf Potential: AFM13, in particular, was being developed for combination with allogeneic (donor) NK cells, offering the potential for an 'off-the-shelf' therapy, which is a major logistical and cost advantage over patient-specific (autologous) cell therapies.
• Tetravalent Design: The molecules are tetravalent (four binding sites), which can lead to higher avidity (binding strength) and improved efficacy compared to standard bispecifics. This design is a key feature of the ROCK platform.
• Market Valuation Reality Check: Despite the innovative technology, the company's market capitalization dropped to a mere $1,639 as of November 2025, reflecting the extreme risk and near-total loss of equity value for shareholders following the insolvency.

For a deeper dive into the company's foundational principles, you can review Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Affimed N.V. (AFMD).

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) How It Makes Money

Affimed N.V. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, meaning it currently generates revenue not from selling approved drugs, but from strategic collaborations and licensing agreements with larger pharmaceutical partners.

This revenue is highly volatile, driven entirely by non-recurring upfront payments, research funding, and development milestone achievements tied to their Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) platform and pipeline candidates like Acimtamig (AFM13) and AFM24.

Affimed N.V.'s Revenue Breakdown

As a biotech company focused on research and development (R&D), Affimed N.V.'s revenue is concentrated in a single, high-risk stream. For the trailing twelve months (TTM) ending around early 2025, the total revenue was approximately $6.28 million, a significant drop from prior years, reflecting the company's severe financial challenges and the non-recurring nature of milestone payments.

Business Economics

The core economics of Affimed N.V. reflect a high-burn R&D model typical of a clinical-stage biotech, but with a critical difference: the business is navigating insolvency proceedings as of May 2025.

The goal of this model is to prove the efficacy of its proprietary ROCK® platform (Redirected Optimized Cell Killing) to create Innate Cell Engagers (ICE®) that harness the body's natural killer (NK) cells to fight cancer. The real, long-term value is in the eventual commercialization of a drug like Acimtamig (AFM13) or AFM24, which would shift the revenue model to high-margin product sales and royalties.

Here's the quick math: The company's net cash used in operating activities over the last twelve months was approximately $-85.77 million, showing a massive cash burn to fund clinical trials and R&D. You're betting on a future blockbuster drug, but the near-term financial reality is brutal.

• Pricing Strategy: The company has no approved products, so there is no product pricing. The value is captured through licensing fees, which are essentially a risk-sharing mechanism. For example, a partnership with Genentech provides non-dilutive capital to fund development.
• Cost Structure: R&D expenses are the dominant cost, totaling €10.1 million for the third quarter of 2024 alone, even after significant cost-cutting. This is the cost of proving the platform works.
• Economic Fundamental: The company is currently a pure intellectual property (IP) and pipeline play. Its survival and future revenue depend entirely on the success of its clinical trials and the ability to secure a strategic buyer or partner for its assets during the insolvency process. For a deeper look at the long-term vision, see Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Affimed N.V. (AFMD).

Affimed N.V.'s Financial Performance

The financial health of Affimed N.V. is defined by its May 2025 filing for the opening of ordinary insolvency proceedings in Germany, which led to the delisting of its stock from Nasdaq on May 20, 2025.

This is the most critical fact for any investor or analyst. The company is overindebted and its ability to continue as a going concern is in substantial doubt.

• Net Loss: For the third quarter of 2024, the company reported a net loss of approximately $-16.65 million. This persistent unprofitability is the root cause of the liquidity crisis.
• Cash Position: As of September 30, 2024, the cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments stood at approximately $24.94 million. What this estimate hides is that this cash was projected to provide a runway only into the fourth quarter of 2025, which was insufficient to avoid the insolvency filing in May 2025.
• Market Valuation: The market capitalization had plummeted to approximately $2.2 million in May 2025 following the insolvency news, a clear sign of financial distress and the near-total loss of equity value for existing shareholders.
• Liquidity Ratios: The Current Ratio was still around 1.93, and the Quick Ratio was 1.71, as of the latest full data, suggesting it had more current assets than liabilities. Still, in a biotech, this means little when the core asset-the clinical pipeline-can't be funded to completion.

The stock now trades on the OTC market under the ticker AFMDQ. The immediate action for you is to treat any remaining equity as highly speculative and contingent on the outcome of the German insolvency proceedings, which will defintely determine the fate of the company's valuable ICE® assets.

Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Market Position & Future Outlook

Affimed N.V.'s future outlook is not about market growth but about asset value preservation, following its filing for insolvency proceedings in Germany on May 13, 2025, and subsequent delisting from Nasdaq. The company's value now rests entirely on its proprietary Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) pipeline, which must be sold or partnered to survive any restructuring.

Honestly, the immediate financial picture is clear: the consensus 2025 quarterly revenue estimate was 0 MM by December 31, 2025, reflecting the halt in operations and the lack of a commercial product. You are looking at a distressed asset with significant technical promise, but zero commercial footing. For a deeper dive into the numbers that led to this, you should check out Breaking Down Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive analysis must focus on the technology, not commercial sales, since Affimed N.V. is non-commercial and insolvent. Their ROCK® platform (ICE®) is a unique approach, but it competes for attention and partnership capital against established and well-funded platforms in the broader immuno-oncology space.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic initiatives are now defined by the insolvency proceedings. The focus shifts from clinical development timelines to securing a buyer or a major licensing deal for its core assets, specifically AFM13, AFM24, and AFM28.

Industry Position

Affimed N.V. is positioned as a pioneer in the Innate Cell Engager (ICE®) field, a niche within bispecific antibodies that specifically targets Natural Killer (NK) cells via CD16A. This is defintely a high-risk, high-reward area.

What this estimate hides is that while the company's financial standing is near zero, its technical standing remains high. The positive data from AFM13 (in combination with Artiva Biotherapeutics' AlloNK®) and AFM24 (in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) validates the platform's mechanism of action.

• Core Asset Validation: AFM28 showed the highest complete response rates among anti-CD123 therapies, indicating potential market leadership in that specific indication.
• Partnership Value: Existing collaborations, like the one with Genentech for novel NK cell engager-based immunotherapeutics, suggest external validation of the technology's potential.
• Cash Constraint: As of March 31, 2024, the company had only €48.5 million in cash, guiding a runway into the second half of 2025, which was insufficient to avoid the insolvency filing.

Here's the quick math: The company's total revenue over the last twelve months was only $877 thousand, while its net loss was -$114.66 million, showing a massive cash burn that the pipeline progress could not offset in time. The market is waiting to see if the scientific value can be salvaged from the financial ruin.