Marea Therapeutics is the latest biotechnology startup to use an unconventional route to quickly gain access to the public markets.
The company on Thursday was acquired by Lisata Therapeutics in a stock-for-stock deal that will see the combined entity majority owned by Marea’s shareholders and pursuing the startup’s clinical plans. A group of high-profile investors, among them previous Marea backers Forbion, venBio and Third Rock Ventures, have also committed $225 million in financing to support development.
Following the acquisition, Lisata shareholders will own just over 2% of the new company, with Marea stockholders holding nearly 60% and the investor group gaining the remaining 38%.
Lisata pursued the deal with Marea following a series of setbacks and a failed buyout attempt. Earlier in the year, Lisata had agreed to be acquired by development partner Kuva Labs. But the deal fell apart after Kuva failed to secure the necessary financing. In August, Lisata cut 72% of its workforce, sued Kuva and began pursuing strategic alternatives, a process that often leads to a sale or merger.
The deal Lisata ultimately struck hands the company a new pipeline of medicines for cardiovascular and endocrine diseases. One drug, called MAR001/005 and that Marea licensed from Novartis, inhibits the protein ANGPTL4, which is highly expressed in fat tissue. The candidate is in a Phase 2b trial for severe hypertriglyceridemia, a condition characterized by abnormally high levels of lipids in the blood.
A second drug, MAR002, meanwhile, is being evaluated in a Phase 2 trial for people with a rare hormonal disorder known as acromegaly.
Both studies are expected to produce results in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The financing should fund company operations through 2028, but will primarily be geared toward Marea’s drugs. The remaining proceeds will be used for general purposes, Lisata said.
In a statement, Josh Lehrer, the newly appointed COO and President of Lisata and CEO of Marea, said the cash should also get the company into Phase 3 testing.
"Joining with Lisata gives our first-in-class antibody programs a faster path to patients who today have limited options for these serious cardioendocrine diseases," he said.
