The festive season may be a chance to rest up and recharge—but tell that to biotech dealmakers, who have been as busy as ever.
This morning, Thursday, Jan. 2, brought news that immunotherapeutics biotech Hookipa Pharma is acquiring rare-disease-focused Poolbeg Pharma in all-stock transaction to create a merged company that will have its pick of both companies’ pipelines. Poolbeg will surrender its listing on the U.K.’s AIM exchange and become a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Hookipa.
The deal will initially see Poolbeg shareholders receive 0.03 Hookipa shares for each of their Poolbeg shares, resulting in Poolbeg’s shareholders owning around 55% of the equity of the merged company, with Hookipa’s shareholders accounting for the remaining 45%.
However, these percentages will immediately be reduced as a result of a primary private placement fundraise for around $30 million that Hookipa has organized to provide the merged company with sufficient capital to advance its pipeline. This will include an interim phase 1 readout for the combined company’s lead candidate—Hookipa’s HB-700 program for KRAS-mutated cancers—which is due to read out in the first half of 2026.
The second half of that year should also see a phase 2 top-line readout from the company’s next most high-priority asset—Poolbeg’s POLB 001, a preventive therapy for cancer immunotherapy-induced cytokine release syndrome.
The private placement should mean that the merged company has a clear financial runway through to the end of 2026, the biotechs explained in the release.
Hookipa’s current shareholders will also receive a contingent value right entitling them to around 55% of the milestone payments coming from Gilead Sciences' existing hepatitis B collaboration as well as 80% of proceeds from the HB-200 program in patients with HPV16+ recurrent/metastatic PD-L1 CPS ≥ 20 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Hookipa’s M&A move follows a rocky 2024 that saw the New York-based biotech lay off staff in the wake of Roche walking away from a collaboration on HB-700.
Galera buys Nova
Galera Therapeutics, meanwhile, saw an even more abrupt reversal in fortunes in recent days. The clinical-stage company—which was working on therapeutics designed to improve the radiotherapy process for oncology patients—had decided last year to liquidate. That move followed the FDA’s rejection of Galera’s radiotherapy complication drug avasopasem, leading the biotech to jettison 70% of its employees.
But on New Year’s Eve, Galera made the surprise announcement that it had acquired Nova Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology focused on a pan-NOS inhibitor to treat patients with highly resistant forms of breast cancer.
A syndicate of investors led by Ikarian Capital is pumping $3 million into Galera via a stock purchase in order to fund the deal. This means the merged company will be able to continue development of a phase 1/2 trial of an unnamed pan-NOS inhibitor in metaplastic breast cancer as well as a study of avasopasem to begin next year.
Once the dust has settled, Galera’s stockholders will own around 25% of the combined company, with new investors and Nova stockholders accounting for the remaining 75%.
Meanwhile, the news on Dec. 27 that Vincerx Pharm will be acquired by clinical-stage ADC company Oqory came with a sting in the tale for Vincerx’s staff. The cancer biotech will see a “workforce reduction” and C-suite clear-out that will involve Ahmed Hamdy, M.D., stepping down as CEO—while remaining as chairman—to be replaced by Chief Operations Officer Raquel Izumi, Ph.D., with Chief Financial Officer Alexander Seelenberger also leaving his role, while retaining a consultancy position.
After the deal, which includes a minimum fully diluted equity value of $13.66 million, 95% of the business will be owned by Oqory’s current equity holders. The company will continue Vincerx’s listing on Nasdaq.
“This strategic transaction highlights Vincerx’s commitment to develop ADCs with improved safety profiles that allow patients to thrive on—rather than endure—their cancer therapies,” said acting Vincerx CEO Izumi, who pointed to the “favorable efficacy” shown by Oqory’s anti-TROP2 ADC in the clinic.