14th Oct 2022 13:47
(Alliance News) - Arix Bioscience PLC on Friday said its portfolio company Imara Inc has signed a merger deal with Enliven Therapeutics Inc.
The London-based venture capital investor in biotech firms said the merger will create a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.
Enliven Therapeutics is a Boulder-based clinical-stage precision oncology company in Colorado, focused on the discovery and development of next-generation small molecule kinase inhibitor to help patients with cancer. Imara is a Boston-based pharmaceutical company that develops and commercialises novel therapeutics to treat patients with serious diseases.
Arix said the combined company will focus on "advancing Enliven’s pipeline of precision oncology product candidates". It is expected to operate under the name Enliven Therapeutics.
Additionally, the combined company is expected to have about USD300 million of cash and cash equivalents at closing after transaction expenses.
Chief Executive Officer Robert Lyne said: "The merger of Enliven with Imara will bring a differentiated, clinical stage pipeline of precision oncology assets to the public market. We are pleased to note that with the proposed financing backed by a group of top tier investors, the combined company will be well funded with sufficient cash to achieve multiple clinical development milestones into 2026."
To support the merger, Enliven said it plans to raise around USD165 million in a concurrent private financing co-led by new investors Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners.
Arix shares were up 0.9% at 104.45 pence each on Friday afternoon in London, with a market capitalisation of GBP134.93 million.
By Xindi Wei; [email protected]
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