ARCA biopharma, Oruka Therapeutics enter merger agreement

Key takeaways:

• ARCA biopharma and Oruka Therapeutics will merge and operate under Oruka Therapeutics.
• The companies anticipate that the merger will fund Oruka’s leading programs, ORKA-001 and ORKA-002.

ARCA biopharma and Oruka Therapeutics have entered into a definitive merger agreement and will now operate under Oruka Therapeutics, ARCA announced in a press release.

The merger agreement includes the combining of all stocks which will now be traded on the Nasdaq under ORKA. Following the merger, the combined cash balance is anticipated to fund Oruka’s primary programs — interleukin 23p19 inhibitor ORKA-001 and IL-17A/F inhibitor ORKA-002 — through proof-of-concept.

Oruka is the third company that was established based off assets generated by Paragon Therapeutics.

“We believe that our lead programs, engineered by the world-class team at Paragon, could meaningfully advance the standard of care in psoriasis and related diseases,” Lawrence Klein, PhD, CEO of Oruka, said in the release. “This merger and significant financing is expected to provide resources to build out our operational capabilities and propel our programs into clinical development with focus and efficiency.”

Oruka’s plans to enter clinical trials for ORKA-001 and ORKA-002 in 2025, with initial pharmacokinetic data for ORKA-001 anticipated as early as the second half of 2025. According to the release, Oruka’s programs could provide important validation of the ability to achieve extended dosing intervals and high antibody exposures.