Kintara Therapeutics and TuHURA Biosciences sign definitive merger agreement

Kintara Therapeutics and TuHURA Biosciences, a Phase 3 registration-stage immune-oncology company developing novel technologies to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy, have entered into a definitive agreement for an all-stock transaction forming a company to advance a late-stage oncology pipeline. The combined company will focus on advancing TuHURA’s personalized cancer vaccine(s) and first-in-class bi-functional ADCS, two technologies that seek to overcome the major obstacles that limit the effectiveness of current immunotherapies in treating cancer. The combined company is expected to operate under the name “TuHURA Biosciences, Inc.” and to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “HURA”. The transaction is expected to close in Q3. IFx-2.0 expects to be entering a Phase 3 trial as adjunctive therapy with the checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda in patients with advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma. This registration directed trial is expected to be conducted under the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Pathway and is expected to begin enrollment in 2H-2024. Subject to stockholder approval, on a pro forma basis, post-merger Kintara equityholders are expected to collectively own up to approximately 2.85%, or approximately 5.45% including the shares underlying the contingent value rights to be received by certain of Kintara’s equityholders of the common stock of post-merger combined company on a pro forma fully diluted basis. TuHURA equityholders are expected to collectively own approximately 97.15%, or 94.55% assuming the distribution of the CVR shares, of the common stock of combined company on a pro forma fully diluted basis. Pre-merger Kintara common stockholders, certain warrant holders and certain preferred stockholders of record of Kintara will receive a CVR, entitling the holder to receive shares of Kintara common stock to be issued upon achievement of the CVR milestone. The Kintara CVR shares will be issued and distributed once 10 patients are enrolled and tracked in a study to determine whether a lower dose of REM-001 elicits a treatment effect similar to that seen in prior REM-001 studies. Once completed, the company will seek to out-license or identify an acquirer for the technology. Following the merger, the combined company will be headquartered in Tampa, Florida, with James Bianco as CEO and President, and Dan Dearborn as CFO. The board will be composed of five members, with four members initially designated by TuHURA and one member initially designated by Kintara.