June.06.2022
We advised Kineta, Inc., a private immuno-oncology company, on its definitive agreement to merge with Yumanity Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to accelerating the revolution in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases through its scientific foundation and drug discovery platform.
Kineta’s IND-ready, lead asset is KVA12.1, a potential best-in-class VISTA blocking immunotherapy to address the problem of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. Under the definitive agreement, Kineta will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yumanity in an all-stock transaction, resulting in a combined publicly traded company re-named Kineta, Inc., that will focus on immuno-oncology and continue Yumanity’s ongoing research collaboration with Merck & Co. in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar dementia.
In support of the proposed merger, the combined company is expected to close a PIPE financing concurrently with the completion of the merger. Together with the cash expected from both companies at closing, the net proceeds of the proposed merger and the PIPE financing are expected to fund the further development of Kineta’s immuno-oncology portfolio.
The Orrick team advising Kineta was led by Blake Ilstrup, Hari Raman and Albert Vanderlaan and included Jim Bishop, Brian Blood, Kelly Mink, Nnaemeka Anyanwu, Tommy Li, Brian Kim, Michelle Lee, Peter Elias, Shana Solomon, Michael Wiesner, Sarah Schaedler, Daniel Kearney, Jennifer Criss, Daniel Kadin, Shannon Yavorsky, Matthew Coleman, Jeanine McGuinness, Maria Sergeyeva, Milana Karayanidi, Amy Ray, Aaron Howe and Christopher Escobar.