We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing transformative treatments for patients with serious immunological diseases. Our lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein self-administered as a subcutaneous injection once weekly that blocks both B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), which stimulate B cells and plasma cells to produce autoantibodies contributing to certain autoimmune diseases. We are conducting a Phase 2b clinical trial of atacicept in patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), a disease with a high unmet medical need and no approved therapies. IgAN is a serious and progressive autoimmune disease of the kidney that is driven by the production of immunogenic galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1). IgAN patients with elevated Gd-IgA1 are at increased risk of kidney-related morbidity and mortality. As reported in a Phase 2a clinical trial of 16 patients conducted by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, atacicept is the first and only molecule currently in development to demonstrate a 60% reduction in plasma Gd-IgA1 in IgAN patients (75 mg dose, n=4 at 24 weeks), which we believe can be disease modifying. We plan to initiate patient screening for our Phase 2b clinical trial in IgAN in the second quarter of 2021, and we expect to report topline results in the fourth quarter of 2022. In addition, we are evaluating additional diseases where atacicept’s reduction of autoantibodies may prove medically useful, including lupus nephritis (LN), a severe renal manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

(Note: Vera Therapeutics priced its IPO on May 13, 2021, at $11 – far below its $14-to-$16 range – on 4.35 million shares, the same number in the prospectus, to raise $47.85 million.)