Ruthigen and Pulmatrix Enter into Merger Agreement
Ruthigen and Pulmatrix announced that on 13 March 2015, they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon the closing of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, Pulmatrix will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ruthigen and all of Pulmatrix's debt and equity securities outstanding prior to the consummation of the merger will be exchanged for shares of Ruthigen common stock that will represent approximately 81% of the outstanding common stock of Ruthigen. In connection with Pulmatrix's entry into the merger agreement, certain existing institutional investors in Pulmatrix entered into stock purchase agreements with Pulmatrix to invest an additional $10,000,000 in Pulmatrix upon the closing of the merger. Pulmatrix also raised approximately $4,500,000 in February 2015, in contemplation of entering into the merger agreement.
Upon completion of the merger, Ruthigen will be renamed Pulmatrix, and, pending NASDAQ approval of the merger, the surviving company's common stock will continue to trade on The NASDAQ Capital Market after the merger. It is anticipated that the combined company will focus its resources and efforts on the development of Pulmatrix's next-generation inhaled therapeutic products.
Upon completion of the merger, Dr Robert Clarke, President and CEO of Pulmatrix, will be appointed as the President and CEO of the combined company and the combined company will be headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Pulmatrix in 2004, Dr Clarke was a Director of Life Sciences at Alkermes.
"We believe that a merger with Ruthigen provides a strong financial foundation with enhanced access to capital to further Pulmatrix's mission of innovative inhaled product development for patients with significant unmet needs in respiratory disease," Dr Clarke said. "This transaction represents an excellent opportunity to advance our novel iSPERSE inhaled dry powder platform and lead CF candidate into clinical development and to meet our long-term growth objective of building a leading company around a robust pipeline for respiratory disease."
Terry McGuire, senior Pulmatrix board member and founding partner at Polaris Partners, Pulmatrix's largest shareholder, noted: "This transaction provides significant momentum for Pulmatrix to achieve its goals in the next stage of its development." Mr McGuire co-founded several companies including Inspire Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Merck & Co. in 2011 and Advanced Inhalation Research, which was acquired by Alkermes in 1999. He also represented Polaris on the board of numerous life science companies including Decode Genetics, which was acquired by Amgen; Transform Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson; and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Merck & Co.
Dr Scott Rocklage, the former Chairman and CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, also serves on the board of Pulmatrix. He is currently a managing partner at 5AM Ventures, another lead investor in Pulmatrix. Dr Rocklage commented: "The Pulmatrix board sees significant opportunities for growth based on the company's novel product pipeline built upon the unique iSPERSE technology." 5AM Ventures was a founding investor in Pearl Therapeutics which was acquired by AstraZeneca in 2013.
Hojabr Alimi, Chairman and CEO of Ruthigen, said: "This merger has the potential to provide a significant business growth opportunity for our combined companies. We hope that the introduction of a new team of scientists and management with a proven track record, as well as Pulmatrix's new drug development programmes, will catalyze significant growth opportunities in the near future."
Related News
-
News Patients vs Pharma – who will the Inflation Reduction Act affect the most?
The Inflation Reduction Act brought in by the Biden administration in 2022 aims to give better and more equitable access to healthcare in the USA. However, pharma companies are now concerned about the other potential costs of such legislation. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024
The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma marke... -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News EU Medical Devices Regulation causes unintended disappearances of medical devices for children, doctors state
Doctor groups and associations have appealed to the EU to correct the EU Medical Devices Regulation law that may cause unintended shortages of essential drug and medical devices for children and rare disease patients. -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Detecting Alzheimer's disease with a simple lateral flow test
A novel rapid diagnostic test for early-stage Alzheimer's disease has been developed using a biomarker binder from Aptamer Group along with technology from Neuro-Bio, the neurodegenerative disease experts. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance