Life sciences-focused investment firm TCGX will use a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to take migraine-minded TriGemX Bio public.
The blank-check company was charged with finding a suitable life sciences outfit to take onto the Nasdaq via a reverse merger and has settled on TriGemX Bio. The drug developer—formerly known as Kallyope—is focused on a TRPM8 channel blocker called elismetrep that’s in phase 3 trials for the acute treatment of migraine. The first readout from those studies is expected in mid-2027.
The merged company will trade under the ticker symbol “TGEM” and is expected to have around $246 million to hand, courtesy of $86 million in the SPAC’s account as well as $160 million in PIPE financing from the likes of TCGX, Viking Global Investors and ADAR1 Capital Management.
The proceeds have been earmarked to complete the phase 3 trial of elismetrep and to begin preparations for a hoped-for commercial launch, according to this morning’s release.
The company is expected to have a post-transaction equity value of around $600 million at closing, with TriGemX’s current shareholders rolling their equity into the combined entity.
“This is an important day and financing for TriGemX,” the biotech’s CEO Jeff Goater said in a statement.
“With the anticipated proceeds from this transaction, TriGemX will be positioned to fully fund the phase 3 development of elismetrep and undertake key commercial readiness activities as we prepare for a potential U.S. launch,” Goater added.
Goater took up the CEO role at TriGemX at the start of this month as part of $94 million financing from the Column Group, where he serves as venture partner.
While TriGemX is now focused on elismetrep, under its previous moniker of Kallyope, the biotech had been working on a variety of programs related to the gut-brain axis. Those included three obesity programs licensed to Novo last month.
Chen Yu, founder and managing partner of TCGX, who is also CEO of TCGX Acquisition, said he was “thrilled to partner with the team at TriGemX.”
“We established TCGX, motivated by the opportunity to support high-potential life sciences companies developing groundbreaking therapies, and TriGemX exemplifies that vision,” Yu added. “We look forward to supporting the company as it executes on its next phase of growth.”
TCGX has established itself as a major biotech backer in recent years. The California-based investor raised its first fund in 2021, securing $824 million for crossover and public investments. Across two later investment vehicles, TCGX brought its total haul up to $3.1 billion. TCGX invested the money in biotechs that went on to successful exits, through both buyouts and IPOs.
Earlier this month, the firm announced it had launched a $600 million fund specifically for biotechs in Asia.
The SPAC path to the public markets hit peak popularity among biotechs back in 2022, with interest in the model having since died down. However, there have been a few notable examples in recent years, including stem cell company PrimeGen, which launched onto the Nasdaq via a SPAC in February.
Last Friday, Frazier Life Sciences hit the Nasdaq with its second biotech-focused SPAC. TCGX is already on the hunt for another merger after launching another SPAC, called TCGX Acquisition Corp. II, via a $100 million IPO last week.
The state of biotech funding is one of the hot topics being discussed at Fierce Biotech's high-impact event in London next month. Find out more information and register by clicking on the banner below:
