Kaleido Biosciences Raises $75 Million in IPO to Advance Microbiome Metabolic Therapies

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that Kaleido Biosciences (NASDAQ: KLDO) announced the pricing of its initial public offering at $15.00 per share (excluding underwriting commissions), with a total issuance of 5 million shares of common stock.

Kaleido Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that treats diseases and improves human health by chemically modifying microbiota-containing organs. The company is dedicated to redefining disease treatment through the human microbiome, transforming the discovery, development, and delivery of therapeutics to empower patients to better manage their health.

Over the past decade, research on the impact of the microbiota on human health has grown exponentially, covering diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and allergies. This highly complex microbial ecosystem is referred to as the “newly discovered organ.” Currently, therapeutic approaches based on modulating the physiological state of human organs often require tens of billions of dollars in R&D funding; therefore, the “microbial organ” still holds significant development potential in the field of medical treatment.

Kaleido has independently established a human-centric product platform to enable the rapid, low-cost development of novel microbial metabolic therapies (MMT). Using this platform, Kaleido has created a library of over 1,000 MMT candidates, and the platform continues to be refined.

The purpose of Microbiome Metabolite Therapeutics (MMTs) is to modulate the metabolic products and morphology of the microbiota by leveraging the function and distribution of existing microorganisms within organs. The MMTs developed by Kaleido are novel compounds that can be administered orally and are selectively metabolized in the gut. Kaleido is currently developing MMTs for hyperammonemia, a disorder caused by metabolic disturbances and typically characterized by elevated ammonia levels in the blood. Kaleido’s hyperammonemia program primarily targets two specific conditions: urea cycle disorders (UCD) and hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

Kaleido is advancing a portfolio of microbiome-modulating therapies (MMTs) to address diverse diseases and meet patient needs, enabling the application of MMTs across multiple therapeutic areas, including rare genetic disorders, metabolic diseases, oncology, and other conditions.

It is reported that the company completed its Series A financing of $4.5 million on August 13, 2015, its Series B financing of $60 million on September 18, 2017, and its Series C financing of $101 million on June 26, 2018. The total amount raised reached $165.5 million.

Kaleido’s common stock recently began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “KLDO.” All common shares in this offering were issued by Kaleido, with Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley serving as joint book-running managers, and Canaccord Genuity acting as lead manager. Kaleido stated that the underwriters have an option to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares of common stock at the initial public offering price (less underwriting commissions) within 30 days.

The offering was completed recently, raising $75 million in net proceeds (after deducting underwriting commissions and other offering expenses), excluding any additional shares purchased by the underwriters.

Kaleido’s Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMTs) refer to an approach that modulates the metabolism and state of the microbiome by adjusting the function and distribution of existing organ-resident microbes through chemical agents, thereby achieving therapeutic goals. MMTs developed for the treatment of urea cycle disorders and hepatic encephalopathy reduce the net ammonia production of the gut microbiota and demonstrate better tolerability than the standard of care.

The company is currently conducting clinical trials for two drug candidates, KB195 and KB174. To determine the therapeutic efficacy of KB195, microbiome samples from healthy volunteers were screened in vitro, followed by in vitro testing of microbiome samples from patients with urea cycle disorders and liver injury. In a randomized clinical study, Kaleido administered KB195 to healthy human subjects and observed a significant reduction in urinary nitrogen-15 levels in the treatment group compared to the control group.

The company is also developing KB109, a drug that selectively leverages certain bacteria present in the gut to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.

(Compiled by Tang Lulu)