Chinook Therapeutics closes merger with Aduro Biotech

Chinook Therapeutics (KDNY) announced the closing of its merger with Aduro Biotech (ADRO), Inc. and $115 million private placement financing. The combined company, now known as Chinook Therapeutics, will commence trading October 6, 2020 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol "KDNY." As previously announced, the $115 million private placement financing includes participation from new investors EcoR1 Capital, OrbiMed Advisors, funds managed by Rock Springs Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC, Avidity Partners, Surveyor Capital, 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, purchased $25 million in Chinook common stock on the same terms as the new investors. Effective as of the closing of the merger, Chinook has over $275 million in operating capital to advance its kidney disease programs. Chinook will focus on advancing its product candidates for kidney disease, including: Planned Phase 3 and Phase 2 trials of atrasentan, an investigational selective endothelin receptor antagonist, in development for the treatment of IgA nephropathy and other primary glomerular diseases; An ongoing Phase 1b and future clinical trials of BION-1301, an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks APRIL binding to both the BCMA and TACI receptors, in development for the treatment of IgA nephropathy; A planned Phase 1 trial of CHK-336, an investigational small molecule, in preclinical development for the treatment of an ultra-rare orphan kidney disease; and Advancement of additional research and discovery programs focused on the treatment of rare, severe chronic kidney diseases. In connection with the closing of the merger, Aduro effected a 1:5 reverse split of its common stock. Post-merger and post-reverse split, Chinook has approximately 42 million shares of common stock outstanding. Prior Chinook stockholders collectively own approximately 39.5% of the combined company, prior Aduro stockholders collectively own approximately 39.9% of the combined company and investors in the Chinook private placement financing collectively own approximately 20.6% of the combined company. Effective as of the closing of the merger, the board of directors of Chinook will be comprised of seven directors: Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics; Jerel Davis, Ph.D., managing director at Versant Ventures; Srini Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D., managing general partner at Samsara BioCapital; William M. Greenman, president and chief executive officer of Cerus Corporation; Ross Haghighat, founder, chairman and managing partner of Triton Systems, Inc.; Michelle Griffin, director and audit committee chair for Adaptive Biotechnologies, Acer Therapeutics and HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc.; and Dolca Thomas, M.D., chief medical officer of Principia Biopharma, Inc.