REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jasper Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on hematopoietic cell transplant therapies, today announced the completion of its business combination with Amplitude Healthcare Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq:AMHC), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by affiliates of Avego Management, LLC and Metalmark Capital. The business combination closed on September 24, 2021. Following the closing, the combined company will operate as Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. and, on or about September 27, 2021, its shares of voting common stock and warrants are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “JSPR” and “JSPRW,” respectively.
“The completion of our merger and companion PIPE transaction allows Jasper to debut as a public company with greater than $100 million in new capital proceeds to advance the clinical development of JSP191, our first-in-class anti-CD117 monoclonal antibody in development as a targeted, non-toxic conditioning agent, and our novel mRNA engineered hematopoietic stem cell platform through significant milestones in 2022 and into 2023,” said Mr. Jeet Mahal, Chief Financial Officer of Jasper. “Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant and autologous stem cell gene therapies can cure patients with a number of life-threatening diseases but the limitations of current transplant technologies include the use of toxic agents for conditioning that are needed prior to transplant and the failure of stem cells to survive when engrafted. We believe that JSP191 and our mRNA engineered stem cell platform are well positioned to address these limitations, and to transform and expand the use of lifesaving, and potentially curative hematopoietic stem cell transplants.”
“Jasper continues to make strong progress advancing the development of JSP191 through its internal and partnered programs,” said Vishal Kapoor, President of Amplitude. “We believe Jasper is uniquely positioned with both JSP191 and its mRNA engineered stem cell platform, which have great potential individually and in combination.”
The business combination was approved by Amplitude’s stockholders at its special shareholder’s meeting on September 22, 2021, along with all other proposals presented at the meeting.
Advisors
Credit Suisse acted as lead PIPE placement agent and as capital markets advisor to Jasper Therapeutics, William Blair acted as co-placement agent and financial advisor, and Cantor Fitzgerald acted as co-placement agent. Paul Hastings LLP served as legal counsel to Jasper Therapeutics. BMO Capital Markets and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acted as capital markets advisors to Amplitude. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP served as legal counsel to Amplitude.
About Jasper Therapeutics
Jasper Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel curative therapies based on the biology of the hematopoietic stem cell. The company is advancing two potentially groundbreaking programs. JSP191, an anti-CD117 monoclonal antibody, is in clinical development as a conditioning agent that clears hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow in patients undergoing a hematopoietic cell transplantation. It is designed to enable safer and more effective curative allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants and gene therapies. In parallel, Jasper Therapeutics is advancing its preclinical mRNA engineered hematopoietic stem cell (eHSC) platform, which is designed to overcome key limitations of allogeneic and autologous gene-edited stem cell grafts. Both innovative programs have the potential to transform the field and expand hematopoietic stem cell therapy cures to a greater number of patients with life-threatening cancers, genetic diseases and autoimmune diseases than is possible today. For more information, please visit us at jaspertherapeutics.com.