STAMFORD, Conn., July 29, 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 the closing of its underwritten public offering of 6,325,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $23.00 per share, which includes 825,000 shares sold pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares. All of the shares in the offering were sold by Cara Therapeutics. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Cara Therapeutics, were approximately $145.5 million.
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 acted as lead joint book-running managers for the offering. Piper Jaffray & Co. and Stifel also acted as book-runners for the offering. Needham & Company and Janney Montgomery Scott acted 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).
