Heart drug developer Kardigan files IPO

The steady stream of biotech IPOs on the Nasdaq this year has continued, with Kardigan the latest to make its intention to list known.

The cardiovascular drug developer, which raised $254 million in a Series B last October and $300 million in a first round that closed the previous January, is hoping to add to its coffers with the as-yet-unpriced IPO.

Kardigan has three drugs in late-stage testing for cardiovascular diseases, so it will need deep pockets to fund its clinical research programme over the next few years.

Furthest along in development is danicamtiv, an oral cardiac myosin activator for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) driven by MYH7 and TTN gene variants in genes coding for the sarcomere, the functional unit of muscle tissue. Kardigan's drug is in the phase 2b/3 KINSHIP-DCM trial, comparing it to placebo over six months in people with genetic or familial forms of DCM, which is expected to generate results next year.

Following just behind and in phase 2b testing are tonlamarsen, an angiotensinogen-targeted subcutaneous antisense oligonucleotide for blood pressure management in acute severe hypertension (ASH), and ataciguat, a once-daily, oral soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) activator for calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS).

In March, Kardigan reported the results of the phase 2 KARDINAL study of a once-monthly dose of tonlamarsen administered subcutaneously in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, which showed a statistically significant reduction in levels of angiotensinogen and systolic blood pressure and prompted the start of the phase 2b KARDINAL-ASH trial in a high-risk cohort of post-hospitalisation ASH patients.

The biotech is hoping that ataciguat will become the first treatment for CAVS – a common, progressive heart condition in which calcium deposits and fibrosis build up on the aortic valve and restrict blood flow to the body – and the first alternative to 'watchful waiting', currently the standard management approach for the condition. The phase 2b portion of the phase 2b/3 KATALYST-AV trial is underway and due to read out in 2028.

In its IPO prospectus, Kardigan said it would use the proceeds for clinical trials of the three drugs, as well as for other R&D activities, and – potentially – to add additional candidates to its pipeline. The company was sitting on cash reserves of around $287 million at the end of March.

Founded by former executives from MyoKardia – which was bought by Bristol Myers Squibb for $13.1 billion in 2020 – Kardigan is based in Princeton, New Jersey, with a second site in South San Francisco. It intends to list on the Nasdaq under the KARD ticker symbol.

There have been almost a dozen biotech IPOs completed on the Nasdaq so far this year, with several others in the queue and values also rising, setting up 2026 to be a bumper year for listings after a lean period in the post-pandemic years.

The increased activity is also coming alongside an uptick in M&A activity, with big pharma groups buying up start-ups at a higher rate than has been seen for some time.