FREQ - Korro Bio and Frequency Therapeutics Announce Closing of Merger and Private Placement of $117 Million | Benzinga
- Korro will be focused on advancing a wholly owned portfolio of RNA editing programs
- Post-transaction cash of approximately $170 million expected to fund operations into 2026
- Funds multiple potentially value-creating milestones, including advancing its lead product candidate in Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) through a clinical trial
- Shares to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "KRRO" commencing on November 6, 2023
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LEXINGTON, Mass., Nov. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Korro Bio, Inc. (Korro) (NASDAQ:KRRO), a biopharmaceutical company with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize a new class of genetic medicines based on editing RNA, enabling treatment of both rare and highly prevalent diseases, today announced the completion of the previously announced business combination between Frequency Therapeutics, Inc. ((Frequency, NASDAQ:FREQ) and the entity formerly known as Korro Bio, Inc. (Korro Bio). The combined company will operate under the name Korro Bio, Inc., and its shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "KRRO" on November 6, 2023.
Immediately prior to the merger, Korro completed the previously announced $117 million private placement co-led by Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Cormorant Asset Management with participation from Eventide Asset Management, Atlas Venture, NEA, Invus, Point72, Platanus, Qiming Venture Partners USA, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Verition Fund Management, Monashee Investment Management, Sixty Degree Capital and additional investors. Following consummation of the transactions, Korro's cash, cash equivalents and investments of approximately $170 million, after transaction expenses, are expected to fund operations and multiple potentially value-creating milestones into 2026, including advancing its lead product candidate in AATD through a clinical milestone, progression of additional product candidates from the pipeline into the clinic, and demonstrating applicability of the RNA editing platform into several additional tissue types.
"This transformative transaction provides us with the capital to demonstrate the potential of our proprietary RNA editing platform, OPERATM, to develop novel genetic therapies that hold new promise for patients and caregivers," said Ram Aiyar, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Korro. "We have a deep pipeline with multiple high-value targets, with an initial focus on progressing the lead product candidate in AATD into the clinic. We intend to leverage our learnings from genetics and pharmacology to bring groundbreaking therapeutic options for patients based on generating de novo single nucleotide variants. We appreciate the support and confidence of our investors and the commitment of our dedicated employees as we enter our next phase as a public company."
Korro's RNA editing approach involves co-opting ADAR, an endogenous editing system, via engineered oligonucleotides to introduce precise edits to RNA. Korro's proprietary platform enables the iterative optimization of the editing efficiency of its product candidates using a combination of ADAR biology, chemistry and machine learning expertise. Using this approach, Korro can edit the transcriptome with high ...