Atea Drawing $65 Million From Hercules Facility

The pharmaceutical company has tapped a credit line as it advances its hepatitis C combination regimen toward regulatory submission.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Healthcare

Vector editorial illustration of amber glass vials and steel tubing arranged in a stepped sequence on a clean laboratory bench, evoking pharmaceutical development. — Atea Pharmaceuticals drew $65 million from a Hercules credit facility as it advances its hepatitis C regimen BEM/RZR toward a U.S. new drug application. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Atea Pharmaceuticals drew $65 million from a Hercules credit facility totaling up to $200 million. The company says its Phase 3 C-BEYOND study met its primary and secondary endpoints for its investigational hepatitis C regimen BEM/RZR.

Why it matters

The funding gives Atea additional capital as it prepares its next late-stage study, C-FORWARD, with top-line results expected in early 2027. Atea expects its planned operations to be funded into mid-2028.

Atea drew $65 million of a facility up to $200 million, while C-BEYOND reported a 94% SVR rate for BEM/RZR and showed statistical non-inferiority to SOF/VEL. The company's 2025 U.S. hepatitis C net sales estimate of about $1.3 billion is the market context, and the C-FORWARD outcome remains unknown.

The players

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing antiviral treatments, including the investigational hepatitis C regimen BEM/RZR.

Hercules Capital

A specialty finance firm that provides venture debt and term loans to life sciences and technology companies.

The details

Atea Pharmaceuticals drew the funds from a credit facility provided by Hercules. BEM/RZR is an investigational combination regimen for hepatitis C virus, and the company is targeting a U.S. new drug application for mid-2027 if C-FORWARD results are positive.

Early 2027: Expected top-line results from the C-FORWARD study.
Mid-2027: Targeted U.S. new drug application submission for BEM/RZR, if C-FORWARD results are positive.
Mid-2028: Expected end of Atea's currently funded operations.

Market Landscape

Atea's regimen is being measured against sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, an established hepatitis C therapy, in a U.S. market the company estimates generated about $1.3 billion in net sales in 2025. Whether BEM/RZR can compete in that market will depend on the pending C-FORWARD results and the regulatory review that follows.

For patients with hepatitis C, the trial results point to a possible new option in the U.S. market, though it is not yet approved or available. Any change in treatment access would depend on regulatory review and future insurance coverage decisions.

The takeaway

Investors and patients should track the C-FORWARD readout in early 2027, since it will decide whether BEM/RZR moves toward a U.S. filing. Until then, the C-BEYOND data and the company's funding runway are the key reference points.

What happens next

Atea expects top-line results from the C-FORWARD study in early 2027, which will determine whether it submits a U.S. new drug application for BEM/RZR in mid-2027.