Pharmaceutical firm Novartis acquired an equity stake in UK-based biopharmaceutical company Mereo BioPharma Group in return for three of its clinical-stage development programmes, as part of a $119m series A round yesterday.
Asset management firm Woodford Investment Management and investment firm Invesco supplied the capital for the series A round, but Novartis has pledged to participate as an investor in future rounds.
Founded in March this year, Mereo aims to fund and develop specialist products from large pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies which may not be able to allocate sufficient time to them, particularly once they advance beyond the Phase 2 clinical stage.
The three Novartis programmes Mereo is taking on are made up of a monoclonal antibody that will treat brittle bone syndrome by improving bone density, a kinase inhibitor that will treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and an aromatase inhibitor that will normalise testosterone levels in obese men suffering from hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism.
Mereo will develop the drug portfolio through a strategic partnership with contract research organisation Icon. WG Partners acted as advisor to Mereo for the round.