Latham & Watkins Advises Aduro Biotech in Merger with Chinook Therapeutics

Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Aduro) (NASDAQ: ADRO) and Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (Chinook), a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, have announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Aduro will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Chinook in exchange for shares of Aduro common stock representing approximately 50% of Aduro’s outstanding common stock immediately following completion of the transaction.

Latham & Watkins LLP represents Aduro in the transaction with a corporate deal team led by partner Luke Bergstrom, with associates Katherine Chen, David Chen, and Nimrah Khan. Advice was also provided on corporate and securities matters by partners Kathleen Wells and Alan Mendelson, with associates Michelle Lu and Theresa Bloom; on technology transactions matters by partner Christopher Hazuka, with associates Robert Yeh, Katie Mladinich, and Jiqiang Lin; on benefits and compensation matters by partners James Metz and Maj Vaseghi, with associates Juliet Rognlie and Brianna Stellpflug; on tax matters by partner Grace Lee, with associate Jessica Chen; on FDA regulatory matters by partner Ben Haas, with associate Chad Jennings; on antitrust matters by partner Joshua Holian and counsel Patrick English; and on data privacy matters by counsel Robert Blamires, with associate Samantha Maerz-Boening. All lawyers are based in the firm’s Bay Area offices, with the exception of Mr. Yeh in San Diego, Mr. Lin in New York, Ms. Rognlie in Chicago, and Mr. Haas, Mr. Jennings and Mr. English in Washington, D.C.