U.S.-based biotech Nuvation Bio Inc. (NYSE: NUVB) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire China-based AnHeart Therapeutics Inc. in an all-stock transaction, which has received approval from the boards of both companies. The deal is contingent upon approval from AnHeart’s shareholders and is anticipated to close in the second quarter of 2024. Following the merger, AnHeart shareholders will hold approximately 33% of the new combined entity.
Founded in December 2018 by CEO Dr. Wang Junyuan (Jerry), who previously held positions at Merck Serono, BMS, and Pfizer, AnHeart Therapeutics operates out of Shanghai and New York, employing an in-licensing model to cultivate a pipeline of innovative small-molecule targeted therapies.
The lead products in AnHeart’s pipeline are the ROS-1 and NTRK dual-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor taletrectinib, and the mIDH1 inhibitor safusidenib. Both therapies were in-licensed from Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, with AnHeart acquiring global rights to taletrectinib in a 2018 agreement, and global excluding Japan rights to safusidenib in 2020.
Taletrectinib is currently undergoing pivotal Phase II trials in China and globally for ROS-1 positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This asset is being co-developed with Innovent Biologics in the Greater China region under a USD 189 million agreement established in 2021. In October 2023, the rights for Japan were sold to Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. for USD 40 million, while South Korean rights were licensed to NewG Lab in 2020.
Safusidenib is in a global Phase II study for treating patients with grades 2 and 3 IDH1-mutant glioma.
AnHeart’s acquisition may reflect the challenging financial climate facing biotechs, particularly within China. The company last reported a Series B financing round in 2021, securing USD 61 million, which it claimed would fund operations for an additional 12-18 months, as detailed by Endpoints News. DeCheng Capital is among its primary investors, and its managing director is set to join Nuvation’s board post-acquisition.
Nuvation Bio, founded in 2018 by former Medivation CEO Dr. David Hung, is well-capitalized. Medivation developed the prostate cancer treatment Xtandi (enzalutamide) and was acquired by Pfizer for USD 14 billion in 2016. With the establishment of Nuvation, Hung aims to focus on the in-house development of next-generation cancer therapies. The company’s pipeline features two Phase I candidates: the BET inhibitor NUV-868 for various solid tumors, and NUV-1511, a small-molecule drug-drug conjugate (DDC) targeting solid tumors previously treated with HER2 antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) or Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan).- Flcube.com
