Autoimmune disease biotech Kyverna Therapeutics prices its IPO at $22, above its revised range

Kyverna Therapeutics, a Phase 1 biotech developing cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, raised $319 million by offering 14.5 million shares at $22, above its upwardly revised range of 20-21 US dollars. The company had originally planned to offer 11.1 million shares at $17 to $19 before changing the terms on Tuesday.

Kyverna Therapeutics focuses on developing cell therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases. Its lead program is KYV-101, an autologous CD19 CAR T cell therapy based on an underlying chimeric antigen receptor and licensed by the National Institutes of Health, which previously completed a Phase 1 trial in oncology. Kyverna is developing KYV-101 for two major areas of autoimmune disease: rheumatology and neurology. The focus of rheumatological development is initially on lupus nephritis (LN) and systemic sclerosis (SSc). The company plans to conduct two studies of KYV-101 in patients with LN and has also received IND approval for a Phase 1/2 study in SSc. In neurology, Kyverna is focused on myasthenia gravis (MG) and multiple sclerosis (MS) and has received IND approval for Phase 2 studies in both diseases.

Kyverna Therapeutics plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol KYTX. JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Leerink Partners and Wells Fargo Securities acted as joint bookrunners on the transaction.