Investors raised $75 million to form ProKidney to develop kidney stem-cell therapies

Pablo Legorreta, founder and CEO of Royalty Pharma, an investment firm that acquires pharmaceutical royalty streams, has led a group of investors in founding a new company called ProKidney. After raising $75 million, ProKidney spent $62 million to acquire the cell ­therapy company inRegen and its ­manufacturing affiliate, Twin City Bio. inRegen is developing therapies for kidney diseases using stem cells obtained and isolated from a biopsy. Those cells are grown in the lab and implanted back into the damaged kidney on a hydrogel scaffold. Phase II trials are underway.