Galectin gets $60M credit line from billionaire chair; Inflammatory disease biotech reaches SPAC deal

26 Jul 2022
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The chair of Galectin Therapeutics, billionaire and Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally financier Richard Uihlein, is offering up $60 million in an unsecured credit facility to the biotech. Almost 15 years ago, Uihlein began investing in the company. With his latest batch of financial support, the largest in the company’s history, Galectin can keep the lights on through 2024, which will be key as the biotech’s Phase IIb NAVIGATE trial is slated to read out in mid-2024. Depending on those results, Galectin hopes to crack the tough barrier to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and file the drug, belapectin, for NASH cirrhosis, CEO Joel Lewis said in a statement. “Current market conditions in biotech have unfairly positioned the Company compared to our perceived competitors and the market more generally. Unlike many early-stage biotech companies, we are conducting a pivotal global clinical trial along with expanding into our own oncology program,” Uihlein said in a statement. The shipping supplies billionaire, who comes from the Schlitz beer family, is the largest donor behind an anti-abortion political action committee and backs politicians favoring access to assault weapons and anti-transgender rights. — Kyle LaHucik Despite a dark winter in biotech and a broader market unwillingness to go public via SPACs, another drug developer is going the blank-check route. Phase I-stage ZyVersa Therapeutics will net about $83 million in its merger with ex-OncoSec CEO Daniel O’Connor’s Larkspur Health Acquisition . Should the deal close, expected in the fourth quarter, the company will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker $ZVSA . The eight-year-old Weston, FL, biotech is already in the clinic with a cholesterol efflux mediator, dubbed VAR 200-01. A Phase I study is testing the renal drug in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Other studies are expected to test the drug in patients with Alport syndrome and diabetic kidney disease. ZyVersa’s preclinical asset, IC 100-01, is an inflammasome inhibitor that targets the innate immune system. The biotech thinks it can be tested across a range of neurodegenerative, metabolic and autoimmune conditions. Multiple sclerosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome are the two furtherest along, according to the company’s pipeline. A Phase I trial is slated for Q2 next year, according to an investor presentation. The company was formerly known as Variant Pharmaceuticals and has raised millions of dollars over the years, according to SEC filings. — Kyle LaHucik Over a year after proteomics company SomaLogic netted a cash infusion of $276 million on the back of a reverse merge with Eli Casdin and Keith Meister’s second SPAC, the company is forging a new acquisition with a player in the DNA nanotechnology space. San Deigo-based Palamedrix, a nanotechnology company, will be acquired by SomaLogic for $35 million, with $14 million in cash and $21 million in its common stock. The deal will have Palamedrix provide scientific and engineering expertise, miniaturization technology and other capabilities that SomaLogic intends to leverage to accelerate the SomaScan Assay, and for it to be eventually used in both biopharma and academic markets, as well as the proteomic diagnostics space. The acquisition will also see Palamedrix possibly being paid $17.5 million if certain revenue-based milestones are hit. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 of 2022 and is not expected to contribute to SomaLogic’s revenue this year. “This acquisition enhances our future opportunity for growth while allowing SomaLogic to maintain its strong balance sheet. It also expands our footprint to San Diego, California, one of the nation’s leading biotechnology centers of excellence as we continue our work to leverage the power of proteomics to positively impact human health,” said SomaLogic CEO Roy Smythe. As part of the transaction, SomaLogic will also obtain the intellectual property of Palamedrix’s DNA-based technology platform, giving SomaLogic options to create assay formats. However, Palamedrix will continue to work from its offices and lab space. Palamedrix’s technology uses DNA-based biosensors that capture small molecules present in biological samples that can pinpoint the presence of an analyte with single-molecule accuracy. — Tyler Patchen
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