Dive Brief:
- Cardiovascular drug startup Kardigan said Wednesday evening it priced a $400 million initial public offering, adding to a recent surge in large new stock offerings for biotechnology companies.
- Kardigan is now the fourth drug startup this year to raise at least $400 million in IPO proceeds, a total rarely hit since 2021, according to BioPharma Dive data. Its offering has hiked the median amount raised by the 2026 class to almost $302 million, well beyond what’s been seen over the previous five years. And it’s now the 13th venture-backed biotech company to go public in 2026, eclipsing 2025’s total.
- Kardigan was created by former executives of MyoKardia, a biotech that developed the drug Camzyos and that Bristol Myers Squibb acquired for $13 billion. It’s working on a trio of cardiovascular medicines licensed from elsewhere, led by a former Bristol Myers drug that’s in late-stage testing for a heart-weakening condition called dilated cardiomyopathy.
Dive Insight:
Wednesday’s IPO caps a fast rise for the cardiovascular drugmaker, which unveiled itself in January 2025, quickly raised close to $600 million in private venture funding and has now added another $400 million in IPO cash.
Kardigan is picking up at least some of the work that began at MyoKardia. Its lead drug, danicamtiv, was originally discovered by MyoKardia before the company was sold to Bristol Myers. Kardigan licensed danicamtiv from Bristol Myers in 2024 and has since brought it forward as a potential treatment for a genetically driven dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition without any approved treatments.
Earlier study results suggested danicamtiv might help improve heart function in patients with the disease. Data from a Phase 2b/3 trial are expected in the first half of 2027, according to the company’s IPO filing.
Kardigan also has in its pipeline ataciguat, a drug that originated at Sanofi and was further developed by the Mayo Clinic. Kardigan has been studying ataciguat for calcific aortic valve stenosis, in which an errant buildup of calcium restricts blood flow from the heart. The company believes it could fill an important need as an early intervention, instead of the “watch and wait” monitoring that can lead to severe disease and aortic valve replacement surgery.
Mid-stage study results showed treatment helped slow measures of disease progression and reduce calcium accumulation. Additional Phase 2 data are coming next year.
Kardigan gained rights to a third experimental drug, an antisense oligonucleotide called tonlamarsen, in a deal with Ionis Pharmaceuticals. It’s being evaluated as a way to help manage blood pressure in people who have been hospitalized after sudden spikes. Initial Phase 2 data in people with this acute severe hypertension are also expected in 2027.
The biotech additionally has a preclinical prospect licensed from Bristol Myers, several other “discovery-stage” heart drugs, and an acquired analytical tool it uses to unearth new medicines and assist in clinical trial design.
Kardigan will begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “KARD.”
