CANADA – Chinook Therapeutics, Inc., a Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington, WA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, raised $106m in funding.
Backers included new investors EcoR1 Capital, OrbiMed, funds managed by Rock Springs Capital, Avidity Partners, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Ally Bridge Group, Monashee Investment Management LLC, Northleaf Capital Partners, Janus Henderson Investors, Sphera Biotech, and other top-tier healthcare investors. As part of the financing, Chinook’s existing investors, Versant Ventures, Apple Tree Partners and Samsara BioCapital, will purchase $25 million in Chinook common stock on the same terms as the new investors in lieu of their prior commitment to purchase convertible notes.Proceeds from the financing will fund the advancement of the combined company’s pipeline, including:Led by Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer, Chinook Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicines for kidney diseases. The company’s products are focused on rare, severe chronic kidney disorders with opportunities for well-defined and streamlined clinical pathways. Its lead program is atrasentan, an investigational endothelin receptor antagonist in development for the treatment of IgA nephropathy and other primary glomerular diseases. The private placement closing is expected to occur immediately prior to the closing of the previously announced proposed merger between Chinook and Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADRO). Following the proposed merger closing, which is expected to occur in the second half of 2020, Aduro will be renamed Chinook Therapeutics, Inc., and is expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “KDNY”. Closing of the private placement is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions for the proposed merger. Following the private placement financing, and upon closing of the merger, Chinook is expected to have at least $275m in operating capital.Through the proposed Aduro merger, Chinook will also add BION-1301, an investigational anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody in a phase 1b trial for IgA nephropathy, to its pipeline. In addition, the company is advancing a preclinical development candidate for an undisclosed ultra orphan kidney disease, as well as research programs for other rare, severe chronic kidney diseases, including polycystic kidney disease. 21/08/2020
