Aduro Biotech Inc. completed its reverse merger with privately held biotechnology company Chinook Therapeutics Inc.
The resulting entity adopted the Chinook Therapeutics name and will begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the KDNY trading symbol starting Oct. 6.
Chinook Therapeutics also raised $115 million via a private placement that saw the participation of new investors EcoR1 Capital, OrbiMed Advisors, Rock Springs Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Co. LLC, Avidity Partners, Surveyor Capital, Ally Bridge Group, Monashee Investment Management LLC, Northleaf Capital Partners, Janus Henderson Investors and Sphera Biotech.
Chinook's existing investors Versant Ventures, Apple Tree Partners and Samsara BioCapital purchased $25 million in stock on the same terms as the new investors.
Following the placement, Chinook has over $275 million in operating capital to advance its kidney disease programs. The company will advance the atrasentan, BION-1301 and CHK-336 programs while continuing research in programs for other rare, severe chronic kidney diseases.
Ownership of the merged entity is split between prior Chinook stockholders who own 39.5%; prior Aduro stockholders who own 39.9%; and investors involved in the private placement who now own 20.6% of the new company.
Aduro effected a 1-for-5 reverse split of its common stock in connection with the merger. Post-merger and post-reverse split, Chinook has approximately 42 million shares of common stock outstanding.
The board of the new entity will be composed of seven directors: Eric Dobmeier, president and CEO of Chinook Therapeutics; Jerel Davis, managing director at Versant Ventures; Srini Akkaraju, managing general partner at Samsara BioCapital; William Greenman, president and CEO of Cerus Corp.; Ross Haghighat, founder, chairman and managing partner of Triton Systems Inc.; Michelle Griffin, director and audit committee chair for Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp., Acer Therapeutics Inc. and HTG Molecular Diagnostics Inc.; and Dolca Thomas, chief medical officer of Principia Biopharma Inc.
MTS Health Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser to Chinook in the merger, and Fenwick & West LLP served as legal counsel.
SVB Leerink acted as exclusive financial adviser to Aduro in the merger, and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel. SVB Leerink acted as lead placement agent, and Evercore Group LLC and William Blair acted as co-placement agents in the private placement financing.