American biotech Jade Biosciences, whose new CEO is based in Vancouver, is about to go public on the Nasdaq through a reverse merger.
Under an agreement announced today, Aerovate Therapeutics (Nasdaq:AVTE) and Jade Biosciences will merge, and the combined companies will list on the Nasdaq as Jade Biosciences under the ticker symbol JBIO.
Jade has raised $300 million from a syndicate of healthcare investors in support of the merger.
Jade Biosciences is headed by CEO Tom Frohlich, former COO of Chinook Therapeutics, which was acquired last year by Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis for US$3.2 billion.
Frohlich, who is on BIV's BC500, lives in Vancouver. He was named Jade Bioscinces CEO on Oct. 24. The newly merged company will have operations here.
Jade Biosciences, spun out of Paragon Therapeutics in the U.S., is a biologics company focused on developing therapies for autoimmune diseases.
Aerovate Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company based in Massachusetts.
Post-merger, Jade Biosciences will advance the development of Jade’s novel biologics, notably JADE-001, an antibody designed to block a protein, PRoliferation Inducing Ligand (APRIL), that contributes to autoimmune responses in IgA nephropathy, a kidney disease.
“As the fourth antibody therapeutics venture founded on assets licensed from Paragon Therapeutics, a leader in antibody discovery, Jade leverages Paragon’s proven success in developing innovative biologics,” Frohlich said in a press release.
“This merger, coupled with strong financial backing, positions us well to advance our programs into clinical development and make meaningful progress in treating autoimmune diseases.”
