Crinetics Raises $125 Million to Advance Rare Endocrine Therapeutics Pipeline

Rare Daily Staff

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors, said it raised $125 million in a public offering of 5.6 million shares at $22.22 per share.

The current financing follows $150 million raised in a secondary offering in October 2021, in which shares were priced at $19.80.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund the development paltusotine, CRN04777, CRN04894, and its other research and development programs, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Lead candidate, paltusotine, is an investigational, oral, selective nonpeptide somatostatin receptor type 2 biased agonist in phase 3 development for the treatment of acromegaly, an orphan disease affecting more than 26,000 people in the United States.

Acromegaly is a hormonal disorder that results from the pituitary gland producing too much growth hormone (GH), usually due to benign tumors on the pituitary. It is most often diagnosed in middle-aged adults, although symptoms can appear at any age. Signs and symptoms include abnormal growth and swelling of the hands and feet, bone changes that alter various facial features, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, enlargement of body organs, and various other symptoms. If not treated with surgery or drugs, acromegaly can result in serious illness and premature death.

Crinetics is has also advanced paltusotine into a phase 2 trial for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome associated with neuroendocrine tumors. The company’s CRN04777, an investigational, oral, nonpeptide somatostatin receptor type 5 (SST5) agonist for congenital hyperinsulinism, is in a phase 1/2 study, while CRN04894, an investigational, oral, nonpeptide ACTH antagonist for the treatment of Cushing’s disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and other diseases of excess ACTH, is in a phase 1 study.

Photo: R. Scott Struthers, founder and CEO of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals