Paragon Therapeutics announced today that the third company founded based on assets generated by Paragon, Oruka Therapeutics (“Oruka”), has entered into a definitive agreement with ARCA biopharma to combine the companies in an all-stock transaction.
| Supported by a $275 million private investment, the merger is expected to create a combined entity focused on advancing Oruka’s portfolio of novel biologics that aim to redefine the standard of care for patients with chronic skin diseases Founding CEO Lawrence Klein, Ph.D., brings deep industry experience to advance Oruka’s mission of providing patients freedom from disease The debut of the third company founded based on assets generated by Paragon reaffirms its commitment to rapidly discovering and developing novel therapeutics for patients WALTHAM, Mass., April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon Therapeutics (“Paragon”), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing best-in-class biologics for a range of diseases with high unmet need, announced today that the third company founded based on assets generated by Paragon, Oruka Therapeutics (“Oruka”), has entered into a definitive agreement with ARCA biopharma to combine the companies in an all-stock transaction. In support of the merger, Oruka has secured commitments for a $275 million private investment from a syndicate of healthcare investors.
“Launching Oruka with such strong investor support is a testament to the company’s differentiated portfolio, experienced leadership team, and focused strategy to transform the treatment paradigm across multiple chronic skin diseases,” said Evan Thompson, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Paragon. “The debut of Oruka reaffirms our commitment to bringing potentially best-in-class therapies to patients as quickly and effectively as possible.” Founded based on assets generated by Paragon, Oruka emerged in 2024 with a focus on transforming the treatment of plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and other dermatologic and inflammatory indications with potentially best-in-class biologics. The combined company, which plans to operate under the name Oruka Therapeutics, Inc., will continue this vision and anticipates rapid advancement of Oruka’s pipeline of potentially best-in-class biologics, with co-lead programs, ORKA-001 and ORKA-002, expected to enter clinical trials in 2025. “Paragon is truly a world-class team, and their exceptional work has begun to show its potential in the clinic. We are thrilled to have access to development candidates engineered at Paragon that could advance the standard of care in several important indications,” said Lawrence Klein, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oruka. “At Oruka, we envision a future that offers more patients freedom from chronic skin disease, and we are committed to building this future by developing potentially best-in-class biologics that could offer higher rates of complete disease clearance with as few as one or two doses a year.” About Oruka Therapeutics About Paragon Therapeutics About Fairmount
SOURCE Paragon Therapeutics |
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