Kintara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KTRA) stock jumped almost 65% in intraday trading after the company revealed plans to merge with TuHURA Biosciences.
Kintara Therapeutics (KTRA) has signed a definitive merger agreement with TuHURA Biosciences. This merger is a strategic move to advance TuHURA’s personalized cancer vaccines and bi-functional ADCS. These innovative technologies aim to improve cancer immunotherapy by overcoming current limitations.
The newly formed company is slated to operate under the banner of TuHURA Biosciences, Inc. and will publicly trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “HURA.” The transaction, structured as an all-stock deal, is expected to reach completion during the third quarter of 2024.
TuHURA aims to expedite a single Phase 3 trial for its IFx-2.0 personalized cancer vaccine. The trial, slated to commence in the latter half of 2024, will evaluate IFx-2.0 as an adjunctive therapy alongside Keytruda in first-line treatment for advanced Merkel cell carcinoma, leveraging the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway.
The merger has received financial backing through a $31 million subscribed financing by TuHURA. This funding will likely sustain the operations and development programs until late 2025.
Kintara equity holders will own up to approximately 2.85% of the combined company’s common stock upon completion of the merger, with TuHURA equity holders owning the remaining 97.15%.
The combined company will establish its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Dr. James Bianco will assume the role of President and CEO, with Dan Dearborn stepping in as CFO. Five members will compose the board of directors, with four representatives from TuHURA and one from Kintara.
Kintara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KTRA) Stock Reaction
KTRA stock surged 63.35% to close at $0.16 on Wednesday. The traders had exchanged hands with 223,726,907 (223.72 million) shares compared to the average daily trading volume of 11.58 million.
