Chinook Therapeutics, a biotech company creating targeted therapies for kidney diseases, has agreed to merge with Berkeley, Calif.-based Aduro Biotech.
The proposed all-stock deal “is a unique opportunity for Chinook to build a leading company in the kidney disease space,” Chinook CEO Eric Dobmeier said in a statement. Aduro plans to acquire 100% of Chinook’s stock in exchange for 50% of its own shares.
The combined company will take Chinook’s name and will be headquartered out of Chinook’s facilities in Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle. It will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker KDNY.
Chinook raised $65 million in a Series A financing round this past August from Versant Ventures, Apple Tree Partners, and Samsara BioCapital. Chinook’s investors are putting in another $25 million as part of the proposed merger.
Dobmeier most recently served for a brief stint as CEO of Seattle-based startup Silverback Therapeutics. He was COO at Seattle Genetics for 15 years and currently is a board member at Adaptive Biotechnologies and Atara Biotherapeutics.
Founded in 2000, Aduro develops immunotherapies for cancer and other diseases. The company went public in 2015 and has seen shares fall steadily since then.
