KKR & Co Inc (NYSE:KKR) entered into a loan agreement with Aimmune Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AIMT) for $170 million to fund AR101 commercialization and pipeline advancement.
According to Aimmune CFO Eric Bjerkholt, "The addition of the KKR loan financing to Aimmune’s capital resources is expected to fully fund the commercialization of AR101, an investigational biologic oral immunotherapy for the treatment of peanut allergy.
"In addition, this financing secures resources to support the continued advancement of our pipeline of additional food allergy treatments, including the Phase 2 trial of AR201 for egg allergy, which is anticipated to commence this year."
In December 2018, Aimmune submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AR101 for the treatment of peanut allergy in children and adolescents ages 4–17 years based on data from the landmark Phase 3 PALISADE trial, which met its primary and key secondary endpoints, and from additional ongoing and completed AR101 clinical trials.
The loan agreement provides Aimmune with an up to $170 million term loan in three tranches. In all, $40 million was funded at close, with $85 million to follow upon FDA approval of AR101 and satisfaction of other customary borrowing conditions, and $45 million at the company’s option in 2020 upon the satisfaction of certain borrowing conditions.
AIMT shares gained 85 cents, or 3.5%, to $25.12, while KKR shares picked up a dime to $20.10
