NEW YORK – Enliven Therapeutics and Imara said after markets closed on Thursday that they will merge, and the combined company will raise $165 million in a concurrent private financing.
Under the all-stock merger agreement, Enliven will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Imara. However, the combined company will retain Enliven's name and leadership team and be listed under the ticker symbol ELVN on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to stockholder approval of both companies and other closing conditions.
Imara is a clinical-stage biotechnology firm that was developing the PDE9 inhibitor tovinontrine and the Nrf2 activator IMR-261 but came upon hard times. Earlier this year, the company decided to stop studying tovinontrine in sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia following lackluster efficacy in two trials. Subsequently, the firm had to cut more than 80 percent of its staff and stop developing both therapeutic assets.
After the merger, the focus will be on developing Enliven's pipeline of precision oncology candidates, including a BCR-ABL inhibitor and a HER2 inhibitor. "Following an extensive and thoughtful review of several strategic alternatives, it became clear that the proposed merger with Enliven was a compelling option for our stockholders," Imara President and CEO Rahul Ballal said in a statement. "Enliven has a differentiated pipeline, an experienced team, and we expect the combined company to be well financed by top-tier investors to execute on its clinical mission."
Concurrent with the merger, Enliven said it wants to raise approximately $165 million in funding co-led by new investors Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. Other investors participating in the funding include Fidelity Management & Research Company, RA Capital Management, Frazier Life Sciences, Commodore Capital, OrbiMed, 5AM Ventures, Surveyor Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Roche Venture Fund, Sheatree Capital, Boxer Capital, Logos Capital, and Janus Henderson Investors. The financing, which is expected to close right before the completion of the merger, is oversubscribed and new investors have contributed 60 percent of the funds, according to Enliven.
Once the merger and financing close, the combined company is expected to have $300 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Enliven, based in Boulder, Colorado, is currently evaluating its lead candidate ELVN-001, a BCR-ABL inhibitor, in a Phase I trial in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia with and without T315I mutations. The firm is also developing a HER2 inhibitor, ELVN-002, and expects to file an investigational new drug application for that candidate by year-end, CEO Sam Kintz said in a statement. Enliven has four other undisclosed preclinical programs.