Adial Pharmaceuticals buys Azora Therapeutics and raises $64 million via private placement of warrants

Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acquired Azora Therapeutics, Inc. on June 11, 2026. The transaction includes a concurrent private placement of up to $64 million in gross proceeds. The private placement consists of an initial $32 million tranche and the potential for an additional $32 million upon initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study.

7489 per warrant. 7489 per pre-funded warrant and accompanying common warrant. Coastlands Capital led the financing.

Boxer Capital Management, Stonepine Capital Management, AuGC BioFund, other biotech specialists, institutional investors, insiders, and management participated. Azora develops treatments for serious inflammatory diseases. Its oral candidate AT177 is a novel, colon-targeted AhR agonist engineered to have minimal systemic exposure.

The acquisition and financing are intended to advance the combined company's pipeline through key clinical milestones in ulcerative colitis, including Phase 1 initiation in mid-2027. Cary Claiborne, president and chief executive officer of Adial, said: "AhR is now a validated target in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

Azora's data support a uniquely differentiated, colon-targeted approach that is designed to minimize systemic exposure in ulcerative colitis.

Matt Davidson, PhD, co-founder of Azora Therapeutics and incoming chief development officer and newly appointed director of Adial, said: "AhR signaling is a key regulator of gut homeostasis, and clinical experience has helped establish both the therapeutic relevance of this pathway in ulcerative colitis and the importance of controlling systemic exposure.