UPB Stock: Insider Activity, Filings & Research
Upstream Bio, Inc. (UPB) — Drillr’s hub for UPB insider activity, SEC filings, earnings signals and AI research. Over the trailing 3 months, UPB insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 5 sales (SEC Form 4).
UPB insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 2026 | Houghton Adamofficer: Chief Business Officer | Sell | 699 | $9.29 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Ambrose Allisonofficer: General Counsel | Sell | 475 | $9.29 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Sutherland Everett Randdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Sell | 2,093 | $9.29 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Deykin Aaronofficer: Chief Medical Officer | Sell | 894 | $9.29 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | GRAY MICHAELofficer: CFO and COO | Sell | 852 | $9.29 |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Ambrose Allisonofficer: General Counsel | Grant | 17,000 | — |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Houghton Adamofficer: Chief Business Officer | Grant | 75,000 | $27.07 |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Houghton Adamofficer: Chief Business Officer | Grant | 25,000 | — |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Sutherland Everett Randdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Grant | 225,000 | $27.07 |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Sutherland Everett Randdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Grant | 75,000 | — |
| Jan 6, 2026 | GRAY MICHAELofficer: CFO and COO | Grant | 91,500 | $27.07 |
| Jan 6, 2026 | GRAY MICHAELofficer: CFO and COO | Grant | 30,500 | — |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Deykin Aaronofficer: Chief Medical Officer | Grant | 96,000 | $27.07 |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Deykin Aaronofficer: Chief Medical Officer | Grant | 32,000 | — |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Ambrose Allisonofficer: General Counsel | Grant | 51,000 | $27.07 |
Source: UPB SEC Form 4 filings, latest Mar 17, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Upstream Bio, Inc. company profile
Overview
Upstream Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPB) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2021 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company focuses on developing innovative treatments for inflammatory diseases, particularly severe respiratory disorders. Since its incorporation, Upstream Bio has positioned itself as a specialized player in the competitive biotechnology landscape, concentrating its research and development efforts on targeting specific inflammatory pathways that contribute to debilitating respiratory conditions.
Business
Upstream Bio operates in the biotechnology sector, specifically focusing on developing therapeutic treatments for inflammatory diseases affecting the respiratory system. The biotechnology industry involves companies that use biological processes, organisms, or systems to manufacture products intended to improve human health and quality of life. This sector is characterized by high research and development costs, lengthy clinical trial processes, and significant regulatory hurdles before products can reach market. The company's primary focus is developing verekitug, a monoclonal antibody that represents their lead therapeutic candidate. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-produced molecules engineered to serve as substitute antibodies that can restore, enhance, or mimic the immune system's attack on cells. Verekitug specifically targets and inhibits the thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) receptor, which plays a crucial role in inflammatory responses. TSLP is a protein that, when overactive, can trigger inflammatory cascades leading to various respiratory conditions. The company's therapeutic pipeline targets three main respiratory conditions: severe asthma, a chronic condition where airways become inflamed and narrowed, making breathing difficult; chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, a condition involving persistent inflammation of the nasal passages and sinuses often accompanied by tissue growths; and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung disease that blocks airflow and makes breathing increasingly difficult. These conditions affect millions of patients worldwide and represent significant unmet medical needs, particularly for patients who don't respond adequately to existing treatments.
Revenue model
As a clinical-stage biotechnology company, Upstream Bio currently generates minimal revenue and operates primarily on a research and development model funded by investor capital. The company's current revenue of approximately $2.4 million annually appears to come from research collaborations, grants, or licensing arrangements rather than product sales, as their primary therapeutic candidate verekitug is still in clinical trials and has not yet received regulatory approval for commercial sale. The company's future business model will likely center on product sales of approved therapeutics, potentially supplemented by licensing agreements with larger pharmaceutical companies for certain markets or indications. In the biotechnology industry, companies typically monetize their innovations through direct sales of approved drugs to healthcare providers, hospitals, and specialty pharmacies, who then distribute them to patients. The paying customers would ultimately be healthcare systems, insurance companies, and patients, with pricing typically reflecting the significant value provided in treating severe, hard-to-manage conditions. Several factors could significantly impact Upstream Bio's future margins and profitability. Regulatory approval success represents the most critical factor, as failure to gain FDA approval would eliminate revenue potential entirely. Competition from established pharmaceutical companies developing similar TSLP-targeting therapies could pressure pricing and market share. Manufacturing scale and efficiency will directly impact cost of goods sold, while patent protection strength will determine the company's ability to maintain pricing power. Additionally, healthcare reimbursement policies and the willingness of insurance companies to cover novel, potentially expensive biologics will significantly influence market access and pricing flexibility.
Competitive moat
Upstream Bio's competitive moat appears relatively narrow, which is typical for early-stage biotechnology companies. The company's primary potential moat lies in its intellectual property portfolio surrounding verekitug and its specific approach to TSLP receptor inhibition. However, this moat faces several significant challenges. The TSLP pathway has attracted considerable attention from larger, well-funded pharmaceutical companies, creating substantial competitive pressure. Companies like Amgen, Regeneron, and others have developed or are developing competing therapies targeting similar inflammatory pathways. These larger competitors possess significantly greater financial resources, established regulatory expertise, and existing commercial infrastructure that could enable them to bring competing products to market more quickly or effectively. The company's specialized focus on severe respiratory inflammatory conditions could provide some differentiation if verekitug demonstrates superior efficacy or safety profiles in clinical trials. However, until clinical trial results definitively establish competitive advantages, this remains speculative. The biotechnology industry is characterized by high failure rates, with many promising early-stage compounds failing to demonstrate sufficient efficacy or safety in later-stage trials. Regulatory barriers provide some temporary protection, as the lengthy and expensive clinical trial process creates natural barriers to entry. However, these same barriers represent significant risks for Upstream Bio itself. The company's narrow product focus means that failure of verekitug in clinical trials would essentially eliminate the company's value proposition, unlike diversified pharmaceutical companies with multiple product candidates.
Risks & safety
Upstream Bio presents a mixed margin of safety profile typical of clinical-stage biotechnology companies, with strong liquidity but significant execution risks. • Strong liquidity position: The company maintains $325.9 million in cash and short-term investments as of Q4 2024, providing substantial runway for operations • Low debt burden: Minimal debt with debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.004, eliminating near-term solvency concerns • High cash burn rate: Operating cash flow of -$59.2 million in 2024 suggests approximately 5-6 years of runway at current burn rates • Excellent liquidity ratios: Current ratio of 44.6 indicates very strong short-term financial health • Valuation concerns: Trading at 1.8x book value despite no profitable operations and uncertain future cash flows • Binary risk profile: Success entirely dependent on clinical trial outcomes for single primary asset, creating high execution risk despite strong balance sheet
Recent development
Based on available financial data, Upstream Bio has demonstrated consistent progression as a clinical-stage company since its 2021 founding. The company has successfully raised significant capital, evidenced by the substantial increase in cash and short-term investments from $17 million in 2022 to over $325 million by the end of 2024, indicating successful completion of major financing rounds that have provided the resources necessary to advance verekitug through clinical development. The company's research and development spending has increased substantially, with operating cash flow losses growing from $19 million in 2022 to $59 million in 2024, reflecting the intensification of clinical trial activities and the progression of verekitug through various phases of development. This increased spending pattern is typical for biotechnology companies as they advance their lead candidates through increasingly expensive later-stage clinical trials. Revenue has remained relatively stable at around $2.4 million annually, suggesting ongoing research collaborations or grant funding that provides some financial support during the development phase. The consistency of this revenue stream indicates the company has maintained its research partnerships and collaborative agreements while focusing primarily on advancing its core therapeutic program.
UPB company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Track UPB with Drillr
SEC filings, earnings calls, insider activity, alt-data signals — all queryable through Drillr's AI terminal and MCP API.
Try Drillr for free