Jasper Absorbs Kira to Reshape Immunology Drug Strategy, Securing $132 Million to Sustain Complement Pipeline

For a biotech company that has just scaled back R&D and cut half its workforce because of manufacturing issues, a merger can be more than a way to expand its pipeline—it can also buy time. Jasper Therapeutics has completed its all-stock acquisition of Kira Pharmaceuticals and concurrently arranged a private placement of approximately $132 million, transforming a cash-constrained public company into an immunological disease developer centered on complement, B cells, and KIT.

The transaction was completed on July 16, with Kira merged into a wholly owned subsidiary of Jasper. The combined company continues to use the Jasper name and the Nasdaq ticker JSPR. Together with proceeds from another licensing agreement, the private placement is expected by the company to fund operations into the second half of 2028. By comparison, Jasper held only approximately $14 million in cash at the end of March, meaning the financing effectively gives the restructured clinical programs roughly two years of operating runway.

The cost is a complete reversal of the ownership structure. On a fully diluted basis, pre-transaction Jasper shareholders are expected to hold only 6.68% after the private placement closes, while former Kira shareholders will hold 49.86% and private-placement investors will own 43.46%. Former Jasper shareholders also received contingent value rights. If the anti-KIT antibody briquilimab leads the U.S. FDA to issue a priority review voucher by the end of 2028, the relevant holders may, subject to specified conditions, share milestone payments totaling $30 million, although there is no guarantee that the voucher will be obtained or monetized.

The centerpiece of the new pipeline is KP-104, which comes from Kira. This bifunctional biologic simultaneously targets the alternative and terminal pathways of the complement cascade and is currently being developed for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and rare kidney diseases, including IgA nephropathy. The company expects to first report data from a Phase 2 basket trial in kidney disease and then discuss the potential design of a Phase 3 PNH trial with the FDA. Existing evidence in PNH comes from a limited Phase 2 study, so descriptions such as “best in class” remain early assessments by the company and analysts.

Another candidate, KP-701, dual-targets CD79B and the inhibitory receptor CD32B in an effort to suppress the function of B cells that produce pathogenic antibodies. It remains at the preclinical stage. The company plans to submit an application for a Phase 1 trial in early 2027 and obtain first-in-human data in the third quarter of the same year. Jasper’s existing briquilimab will also be retained, with the near-term focus shifting toward transplant and immunology indications such as severe combined immunodeficiency, rather than redirecting resources to the urticaria and asthma programs previously disrupted by manufacturing issues.

Before the merger, Kira separately granted Mirador Therapeutics global rights to the long-acting anti-C5a antibody KP-301 and the small-molecule C5a receptor antagonist KP-402, receiving a $12 million upfront payment. SEC filings also disclosed up to $108.5 million in development and regulatory milestones, up to $350 million in sales milestones, and tiered royalties in the low- to mid-single digits. This combination of retaining core candidates, licensing secondary assets, and bringing in new capital has resolved the immediate financial crisis. However, whether the candidates can enter late-stage trials on schedule, whether shareholders will approve the conversion of the private-placement shares, and whether the new company can overcome manufacturing and clinical execution risks will still determine whether this restructuring is a turning point or merely postpones the test.