Tang Capital Partners-owned Concentra has a mixed success rate when it comes to acquisitions.\n Acelyrin has declined a surprise offer from Concentra Biosciences, and is instead pushing ahead with plans to merge with immune-mediated disease specialist Alumis.Los Angeles-based Acelyrin consulted with independent financial and legal advisors and came to the conclusion that the unsolicited interest from Tang Capital Partners-owned Concentra was “not reasonably expected to result in a superior proposal to the planned merger with Alumis,” according to a March 4 release.In late February, Concentra offered to buy all outstanding shares of Acelyrin for $3 per share in cash, along with a contingent value right for Acelyrin’s current shareholders to receive 80% of the net proceeds from the sale or out-license of any of the biotech\'s development programs.The proposition followed an announcement earlier in the month that laid out plans for an Alumis-Acelyrin merger, in which the resulting company would continue under the Alumis name at the biotech’s South San Francisco headquarters under Alumis’ leadership. Stockholders of Alumis—which went public last year—would own 55% of the company, with Acelyrin’s shareholders comprising the remaining 45%.The two California biotechs are now reaffirming the merger plans, with the deal expected to close in the second quarter of this year, subject to approval by stockholders from both companies, according to a separate March 4 release. “The Acelyrin board of directors is confident that the all-stock transaction with Alumis maximizes long-term value for Acelyrin stockholders and continues to recommend that stockholders support the planned merger,” CEO Mina Kim said in the release. “We chose to enter into the merger agreement with Alumis after a comprehensive assessment of strategic alternatives and believe this is the best outcome for Acelyrin stockholders.”The expanded Alumis will take its pick from the two companies’ pipelines. This includes continuing with its own ESK-001, an allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor in a phase 3 plaque psoriasis trial, as well as the TYK2 inhibitor A-005, which is being lined up for a phase 2 trial in multiple sclerosis later this year.The company will also take forward Acelyrin’s anti-IGF-1R monoclonal antibody lonigutamab, which is in a phase 2 trial for thyroid eye disease. Recent months have proved tough for Acelyrin, which laid off a third of its workforce last summer as the biotech shifted attention from its former lead asset izokibep to lonigutamab, with hopes that the latter could rival Amgen\'s eye disease blockbuster Tepezza.After Acelyrin threw in the towel on izokibep, the company returned the drug back to its former partner Affibody, which claimed that Acelyrin hadn’t “been able to fully capitalize” on izokibep’s potential. But now Acelyrin is anticipating brighter days upon merging, with the new entity expected to have about $737 million on hand. That estimate combines Alumis’ $289 million and Acelyrin’s $448 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of Dec. 31, 2024. The combined cash runway is expected to carry the merged biotech into 2027.Alumis brought in one of biotech’s biggest venture capital fundraises of last year when it secured a $259 million series C financing in March 2024. Less than three months after the series C, Alumis revealed plans for a $274 million IPO, downsizing the offer a few days later to debut on the Nasdaq with a $250 million offering.Concentra’s parent company Tang Capital Partners has a track record of swooping in to try to acquire struggling biotechs—with mixed results. The company bought Jounce Therapeutics and Theseus Pharmaceuticals in 2023 but had its advances rejected by Atea Pharmaceuticals, Rain Oncology, LianBio and Kezar Life Sciences.
Alumis, Inc.初创企业
