May 26 (Reuters) – Cardiovascular drug developer Kardigan filed for an initial public offering in the United States on Tuesday and said it intends to use the proceeds to support development of three late-stage therapies.
A rebound in biotech IPO issuance signals improving risk appetite in equity markets, as investors return to healthcare companies with advanced-stage drug pipelines and clearer paths toward commercialization.
Last week, Parabilis Medicines also filed for an IPO, while Oura, the maker of the smart wearable Oura Ring, confidentially filed for an IPO.
Princeton, New Jersey-based clinical-stage biotech Kardigan is developing precision medicines for cardiovascular diseases.
The company is advancing three late-stage experimental therapies: danicamtiv for genetic dilated cardiomyopathy, ataciguat for calcific aortic valve stenosis, and tonlamarsen targeting hepatic angiotensinogen for blood pressure management in acute severe hypertension.
Kardigan plans to use proceeds from the offering, along with existing cash, to fund clinical development of the three drugs, as well as other research, working capital and general corporate purposes.
It will list on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “KARD”.
J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Leerink Partners and TD Cowen are the underwriters for the offering.
(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)
