Shares of biotechnology company Kineta Inc. were trading higher on the Nasdaq Monday, following the completion of its reverse merger with Yumanity Therapeutics Inc. and the debut of the combined company’s shares on the Nasdaq.
At 3:40 p.m. ET, the stock had risen 60.57% to trade at $5.17 per share.
Prior to the reverse merger, Kineta said it effected a 1-for-7 reverse share split of its common stock. The company also said that, along with the reverse merger, it received a $7.5 million PIPE financing priced at $11.55 per share.
The company said it plans to execute on its clinical development program to “unlock the potential” of KVA12123, a differentiated VISTA blocking immunotherapy to address the problem of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. The company said enrollment in a clinical trial evaluating KVA12123 alone and in combination in patients with advanced solid tumors will begin in January of next year. The company also said it is an anti-CD27 agonist immunotherapy “to address the problem of exhausted T cells.” Kineta plans for an investigational new drug application for the treatment in the first half of 2024, it said.