Cash-strapped biotechnology company Jasper Therapeutics has gained a financial lifeline through a merger with a privately held immune drug developer.
Jasper said Thursday it has completed an all-stock acquisition of Kira Pharmaceuticals and, alongside that deal, raised $132 million in a private stock offering. The new funding will enable Jasper, which had just $14 million in cash at the end of March, to operate through the second half of 2028. The combined company will retain the Jasper stock ticker, but have a bigger pipeline that now includes two immune disease drugs Kira has been developing.
For Jasper, the deal represents a new chance to rebound from earlier stumbles that wiped out most of its market value. The company has been focusing on developing an experimental drug, briquilimab, for a form of chronic hives known as urticarias. But a faulty batch of drug product muddied results from a key study. The setback led Jasper to lay off half of its workforce and halt other drug research to preserve cash. Its previous chief medical officer departed the company as part of the restructuring.
Last month, Jasper formally announced it would seek “strategic alternatives,” a process that often leads to a sale or merger. That search led it to Kira, a biotech startup launched in 2020 and backed by investors like Foresite Capital, RA Capital Management and Vivo Capital.
Kira has been working on drugs targeting the “complement” system, a part of the immune system that helps wipe out pathogens and dead cells but can cause certain inflammatory conditions when dysregulated. One, called KP-104, is being tested in the blood disease paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria as well as certain rare kidney conditions such as IgA nephropathy. A second, KP-701, is a bispecific drug designed to depress B cell function.
Jasper is carrying both prospects forward. It intends to discuss a potential Phase 3 study of KP-701 in PNH, and report Phase 2 data from tests in kidney conditions next year. KP-701 could produce early-stage data in 2027 as well.
Kira shared Phase 2 data for KP-104 in PNH at the recent American Society of Hematology meeting. Though the results were from a small trial, they suggested the drug might have “best-in-class potential,” possibly even “exceeding” the benchmarks set by Novartis’ Fabhalta, wrote William Blair analyst Matt Phipps. KP-104 has “additional potential” in other conditions, like IgAN and C3 glomerulopathy, he added.
The company is also testing briquilimab in a kind of rare and deadly immune disease known as SCID, for which development was previously deprioritized. A pre-approval submission meeting is planned with the Food and Drug Administration, Jasper said.
Alongside the merger, Kira licensed out two other pipeline programs to Mirador Therapeutics, an immune disease drug developer led by previous Prometheus Biosciences executives. That pact involved KP-301, a long-acting antibody aimed at the immune protein C5, as well as a small molecule that homes in on the same target. Kira received $12 million upfront and is eligible for additional, unspecified milestone payments.
