Waltham, Massachusetts-based Korsana Biosciences (Nasdaq: KRSA) has completed its reverse merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics and closed a USD 380 million private placement, giving the neurodegenerative disease company a public listing and approximately USD 475 million in pro-forma cash to advance its lead asset toward the clinic. Shares of the combined US-based company began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on September 9, 2026 under the ticker KRSA.

The USD 380 million private placement, described as oversubscribed, was structured as common stock and pre-funded warrants and led by Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, with participation from General Atlantic, TCGX, Forbion, Wellington Management, Commodore Capital, RA Capital Management, RTW Investments, Vivo Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Foresite Capital, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, SR One, Sanofi Ventures, Kalehua Capital, Spruce Street Capital, and others. Under the merger terms announced in April 2026, pre-merger Cyclerion shareholders received approximately 1.5% of the combined company, with Korsana stockholders retaining approximately 98.5%. Cyclerion's common stock was subject to a 1-for-7 reverse split immediately prior to closing. The combined cash position is expected to fund operations into 2029.

KRSA-028, the lead asset, is an investigational shuttled monoclonal antibody targeting amyloid beta for Alzheimer's disease. It uses the proprietary Therapeutic Targeting (THETA) platform, co-developed with Paragon Therapeutics, which engineers antibodies to cross the blood-brain barrier via transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1)-mediated transcytosis combined with Fc engineering. The company said the platform is designed to increase brain drug concentrations, reduce amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) relative to approved agents, and enable low-volume subcutaneous administration — contrasting with the intravenous infusion protocols required by approved anti-amyloid antibodies lecanemab and donanemab. Korsana said it is conducting IND-enabling studies, with Phase I healthy volunteer data expected in mid-2027 and interim proof-of-concept data measuring amyloid plaque clearance in Alzheimer's patients anticipated by year-end 2027 or Q1 2028.

The TfR1-shuttle approach to CNS drug delivery has attracted substantial deal activity. AbbVie acquired Aliada Therapeutics for approximately USD 1.4 billion in 2024, gaining ALIA-1758, a blood-brain barrier-shuttled amyloid antibody for Alzheimer's disease. Eli Lilly separately agreed in June 2026 to pay BioArctic USD 30 million upfront and up to USD 770 million in milestones to apply its TfR1-based BrainTransporter technology to an undisclosed neurodegeneration candidate, providing another transaction benchmark for the delivery strategy underpinning KRSA-028.

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