Yumanity to Sell Neurosciences Candidates, Merge With Kineta
06 June 2022 - 9:21PM
Dow Jones News
By Colin Kellaher
Yumanity Therapeutics Inc. on Monday said it plans to shed its
neurosciences programs and to combine with privately held
immuno-oncology company Kineta Inc. in an all-stock deal resulting
in Kineta shareholders owning about 85% of the combined
company.
Boston biopharmaceutical company Yumanity said it has agreed to
sell YTX-7739, its most advanced product candidate, along with its
unpartnered discovery-stage neuroscience product candidates and
targets, to a unit of Johnson & Johnson for $26 million in
cash.
Yumanity said it will then merge with Kineta, with the combined
company focused on immuno-oncology and continuing Yumanity's
research collaboration with Merck & Co. in amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar dementia.
Yumanity in February said it would explore strategic
alternatives and shed roughly 60% of its staff. The moves came
after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January placed a
partial clinical hold on studies of YTX-7739 in the progressive
nervous-system disorder Parkinson's disease.
The company said it plans a one-time dividend to its
shareholders using any remaining proceeds from the Johnson &
Johnson deal, net of current obligations and cash needs related to
the merger with Kineta.
Shares of Yumanity, which closed Friday at $1.42, rose nearly
30% to $1.84 in premarket trading Monday.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 06, 2022 07:06 ET (11:06 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024