By Denny Jacob
Cara Therapeutics is entering an all-stock deal to combine with private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Tvardi Therapeutics.
Tvardi will merge with a subsidiary of Cara under the terms of the deal. Shareholders of Cara before the merger are expected to own about 17% of the combined company once it closes, while preexisting shareholders of Tvardi will own the remaining portion.
The combined company will focus on advancing Tvardi's pipeline of treatments targeting STAT3 to treat fibrosis-driven diseases with unmet need including its lead candidate TTI-101.
The combined company is expected to operate under the name Tvardi Therapeutics and trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker TVRD. It will be headquartered in Houston and led by Tvardi Chief Executive Imran Alibhai and other members of the Tvardi management team. The board will consist of six directors from Tvardi's board and one director from Cara's board.
The deal has been approved by both companies' boards and is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
Tvardi recently completed a roughly $28 million private financing from a syndicate of new and existing institutional investors. With the cash from both companies at closing and the proceeds of this financing, the combined company is expected to have sufficient cash to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2026.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 18, 2024 07:21 ET (12:21 GMT)
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