Renovacor, a US-based gene therapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firm Novartis, agreed to a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company Chardan Healthcare Acquisition 2 Corp on Tuesday.
The deal will involve Chardan renaming itself Renovacor and continuing to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. It will be boosted by $30m of private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing.
The PIPE is sponsored by Chardan Healthcare Investments, an affiliate of Chardan, in addition to RTW Investments, Surveyor Capital, Affinity Asset Advisors, Altium Capital, Ikarian Capital, Sio Capital Management, South Ocean Capital Management, Acorn Bioventures, Longview Ventures and Innogest Capital.
Renovacor is working on adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies for cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases.
The company’s lead drug candidate is aimed at a condition called BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy, which manifests in patients aged 38 on average, who face a survival rate of less than 50% five years after onset.
Proceeds from the reverse merger will allow Renovacor to advance the programme into phase 1/2 development and establish a pipeline of preclinical candidates.
Novatis co-led the company’s $11m series A round with BioAdvance and Broadview Ventures in 2019 through its Novartis Venture Fund. The round also featured New Leaf Venture Partners and Innogest Capital.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.
