Dover, DE, Oct. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AlphaTON Capital Corp (Nasdaq: ATON) ("AlphaTON" or the "Company"), alongside its wholly owned oncology subsidiary Tarus Therapeutics, LLC (dba Cyncado Therapeutics) ("Cyncado"), today announced a groundbreaking non-binding letter of intent (LOI) to evaluate tokenization of single-indication economics for TT-4 in mesothelioma, representing a transformative step in merging institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure with breakthrough cancer therapeutics.

This pioneering initiative exemplifies AlphaTON's unique position as the only Nasdaq-listed company simultaneously operating a strategic TON token treasury and advancing potentially first-in-class immunotherapy assets. The Company is leveraging decentralized science (DeSci) principles and web3 infrastructure to reimagine how life-saving medical research is funded, accelerated, and brought to patients globally.

Bridging Two Frontiers: Digital Assets Meet Life-Saving Science

AlphaTON's strategic vision unites two high-impact domains previously operating in parallel: the Company's comprehensive TON ecosystem operations - including validator services, network staking, and Telegram-based application development serving over one billion users - with Cyncado's clinical-stage pipeline targeting immune checkpoint resistance in deadly cancers.

"We are witnessing the birth of a new paradigm in biomedical innovation," said Brittany Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer of AlphaTON Capital. "By thoughtfully integrating our digital asset capabilities with Cyncado's compelling oncology programs, we're not just exploring novel financing mechanisms, we're pioneering the future of decentralized science. This approach has the potential to democratize access to groundbreaking cancer research, accelerate development timelines, and create unprecedented alignment between global stakeholders and patient outcomes."

The mesothelioma tokenization initiative represents the first step in what could become a transformative model for funding and advancing therapeutic development through decentralized infrastructure, while preserving all traditional partnership, licensing, and exit pathways. Coupled with TON’s infinite sharding paradigm (ISP) data architecture, this new advancement not only has the opportunity to safeguard quality of life for patients, but also HIPAA-compliant data ownership and security for sensitive clinical on-chain data applications.

Clinical Momentum: TT-4 Advancing Toward Patients in Q1 2026

Cyncado has confirmed it is in final clinical start-up preparations for TT-4, an oral, ultra-selective A2B receptor antagonist, with first-patient dosing targeted for Q1 2026. The drug will initially enter a safety dose-escalation cohort enrolling solid tumor patients under Cyncado's existing FDA-cleared TT-10-101 (ADPORT-601) protocol, with a larger mesothelioma-focused study planned immediately thereafter at major U.S. cancer centers.

Mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer primarily caused by asbestos exposure, represents a significant unmet medical need with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. TT-4's preclinical data demonstrate compelling potential:

  • >90% tumor growth inhibition in murine mesothelioma models when combined with anti-PD1 antibody
  • 60% complete responses when combined with anti-PD-1 therapy
  • >90-day survival in combination treatment groups
  • Mechanistic validation supports TT-4’s potential to fully neutralize adenosine-mediated immune suppression, enhance anti-tumor responses, and broaden the impact of immunotherapy in mesothelioma
  • Superior single-agent activity compared to anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in head-to-head model comparisons

"The scientific and clinical community's response to our mesothelioma program has been extraordinarily positive," said Peter Molloy, Chief Executive Officer of Cyncado Therapeutics. "Key opinion leaders in the U.S. and internationally recognize the urgent need for new approaches in this devastating disease. We are in active discussions with leading non-U.S. investigators regarding additional mesothelioma studies that would complement our planned U.S. clinical program, potentially accelerating global development and patient access."

Decentralized Science: A New Model for Medical Innovation

The DeSci movement represents a fundamental reimagining of how scientific research is funded, conducted, and shared. By leveraging blockchain technology and tokenization, DeSci aims to:

  • Democratize research funding by enabling global participation in supporting promising therapeutic programs
  • Accelerate development timelines through efficient capital deployment and stakeholder alignment
  • Enhance transparency in clinical development and data sharing
  • Create direct value alignment between research supporters and therapeutic success
  • Reduce traditional barriers to advancing innovative medicines to patients in need

AlphaTON's exploration of tokenizing mesothelioma program economics positions the Company at the vanguard of this movement, combining proven Nasdaq governance standards with cutting-edge decentralized infrastructure.

"This is about more than innovation in capital formation," Kaiser continued. "We're building bridges between Telegram's billion-user platform, the TON ecosystem's powerful infrastructure, and breakthrough cancer research that could save lives. Every element of AlphaTON's business model is designed to create synergies - our validator operations strengthen network security, our ecosystem investments drive utility and adoption, and now our therapeutic programs demonstrate how DeSci can accelerate the path from laboratory to patient."

Preserving Optionality, Maximizing Impact

The LOI is exploratory and non-binding, with no commercial terms or structures finalized. Critically, any potential tokenization framework is being designed to preserve, not replace, all traditional pathways for therapeutic development, including conventional partnerships, strategic licensing, acquisition opportunities, and institutional financing.

Any future transaction would require board approval, regulatory clearance, and full compliance with applicable securities laws and regulations. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About AlphaTON Capital Corp

AlphaTON Capital is a specialized digital asset treasury company focused on building and managing a strategic reserve of TON tokens and developing the Telegram ecosystem. The Company implements a comprehensive treasury strategy that combines direct token acquisition, validator operations, and strategic ecosystem investments to generate sustainable returns for shareholders. Through its operations, AlphaTON Capital provides public market investors with institutional-grade exposure to the TON ecosystem and Telegram's billion user platform while maintaining the governance standards and reporting transparency of a Nasdaq listed company. Led by Chief Executive Officer Brittany Kaiser, the Company's activities span network validation and staking operations, development of Telegram-based applications, and strategic investments in TON-based decentralized finance protocols, gaming platforms, and business applications. AlphaTON Capital Corp is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ATON”. AlphaTON Capital, through its legacy business, is also advancing potentially first-in-class therapies that target known checkpoint resistance pathways to potentially achieve durable treatment response and improve quality of life for patients. AlphaTON Capital actively engages in the drug development process and provides strategic counsel to guide development of novel immunotherapy assets and asset combinations.

About Cyncado Therapeutics

Tarus Therapeutics, LLC (dba Cyncado Therapeutics), a clinical stage, wholly owned subsidiary of AlphaTON Capital Corp, is developing potentially best-in-class small molecule adenosine receptor antagonists targeting A2A and A2B receptors to overcome immune suppression in oncology. The Company's lead program, TT-4, is an oral, ultra-selective A2B receptor antagonist with an initial focus on mesothelioma, advancing toward first-patient dosing in Q1 2026. Cyncado is also developing dual-antagonist strategies designed to achieve comprehensive blockade of adenosine-mediated immune evasion, potentially unlocking synergistic anti-tumor effects and durable patient responses.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the Company's business strategy, plans and objectives, future operations, exploration of tokenization frameworks, clinical development timelines, potential DeSci applications, TON ecosystem growth, therapeutic development outcomes, regulatory approvals, financing activities, and statements preceded by, followed by, or including words such as "believe," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "will," "may," "plans," "potential," "targets," or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: risks that tokenization or DeSci frameworks may not be pursued or successfully implemented; uncertainty regarding the Company’s and Cyncado’s ability to enter into definitive agreements on reasonable terms; uncertainty regarding clinical trial outcomes and regulatory approvals; uncertainty of the Company's investment in TON and digital assets; regulatory and legal risks associated with digital assets and tokenization; risks related to Telegram's platform and the TON ecosystem; market volatility; competitive risks in both digital assets and therapeutics development; ability to attract and retain key personnel; the Company’s ability to satisfy its debt service obligations and covenant compliance; macroeconomic conditions; and other factors described in "Item 3 – Key Information-Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2025, and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact Information

Investor Relations:
AlphaTON Capital Corp
[email protected]
(203) 682-8200

Media Inquiries:
Richard Laermer
RLM PR
[email protected]
(212) 741-5106 X 216