Immunovant is set to land on Nasdaq through a deal with Health Sciences Acquisitions Corporation (HSAC), a business founded by RTW Investments to buy a biotech. HSAC will buy the Roivant business but the resulting company will take Immunovant’s name, management team and strategic focus.
HSAC went public earlier this year, raising $100 million with the sole intention of acquiring a North American or European biotech or medtech. Now, HSAC has named Immunovant as its target.
Immunovant will exit the deal with an investor syndicate featuring RTW Investments, BVF Partners, Adage Capital Management, Roivant and others, plus $100 million in cash. The cash projection includes the proceeds of a $35 million bridge financing involving RTW, BVF and Roivant.
The money is forecast to see Immunovant through to the second half of 2021, by when it may have a better idea of whether its anti-FcRn monoclonal antibody IMVT-1401 can compete. Argenx has a FcRn drug in phase 3 in myasthenia gravis, one of the indications targeted by Immunovant; other companies including Alexion and UCB are also in the running.
Immunovant expects to share phase 2a data on IMVT-1401 in Graves' ophthalmopathy in the first quarter of next year, with results from a phase 2a trial in myasthenia gravis expected to follow shortly thereafter. The company looks set to advance toward those milestones as part of HSAC.
HSAC is one of three organizations with similar goals that went public over an eight-month period starting in the back half of 2018. Chardan Healthcare Acquisition Corporation, a business set up by the investment group of the same name, listed late last year with the goal of buying a biotech, medtech or digital health startup. In July, the group struck a deal to merge with BiomX.
With HSAC hooking up with Immunovant, Perceptive Advisors’ Arya Sciences Acquisition Corporation is the only one of the three not to execute a transaction so far. Arya raised $125 million in an IPO a little more than one year ago and has around one year more to seal a deal.