STAMFORD, Conn., July 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CARA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pruritus by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors, today announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 5,000,000 shares of its common stock. In addition, Cara Therapeutics expects to grant certain of the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares of its common stock on the same terms and conditions. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. All of the shares in the proposed offering are to be sold by Cara Therapeutics.
Cara Therapeutics intends to use the net proceeds from the underwritten offering to fund the activities leading to the submission of a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for KORSUVA (CR845/difelikefalin) Injection for the treatment of pruritus associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in hemodialysis patients and subsequent pre-commercialization activities, and the advancement of its clinical programs for Oral KORSUVA, including completion of Phase 2 trials for the treatment of pruritus in patients with CKD (Stage III-V), patients with chronic liver disease and patients with atopic dermatitis, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
J.P. Morgan and Jefferies are acting as lead joint book-running managers for the offering. Piper Jaffray & Co. and Stifel are also acting as book-runners for the offering. Needham & Company and Janney Montgomery Scott are acting as co-managers for the offering.
About Cara Therapeutics
Cara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pruritus by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors (KORs). Cara is developing a novel and proprietary class of product candidates, led by KORSUVA™ (CR845/difelikefalin), a first-in-class KOR agonist that targets the body's peripheral nervous system, as well as certain immune cells. In both Phase 3 and Phase 2 trials, KORSUVA Injection has demonstrated statistically significant reductions in itch intensity and concomitant improvement in quality of life measures in hemodialysis patients with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP). KORSUVA Injection is currently being investigated in pivotal Phase 3 trials in hemodialysis patients with CKD-aP. Oral KORSUVA is in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of pruritus in patients with CKD, atopic dermatitis and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
