Remix to go public in reverse merger with once high-flying Passage Bio

Dive Brief:

Remix Therapeutics is going public via a reverse merger with Passage Bio, a gene therapy company co-founded by Jim Wilson that, while once worth more than $1 billion, has seen its stock price plummet over the past five years.
The transaction should close in the fourth quarter, after which the new entity will trade with Remix’s name under the ticker symbol RMTX, the companies said Wednesday. Remix investors will own about 93% of the new company, with Passage shareholders getting 7% and a contingent value right that may pay out based on the success of licensed pediatric gene therapy assets.
Remix has also secured commitments for a $100 million private financing round that will close just before the merger. Together with the combined company’s cash, Remix expects the financing to provide enough funds to operate into 2028.

Dive Insight:

Remix, which aims to develop pills that can target RNA molecules, is taking over a company that was once considered among the most promising young gene therapy makers in the industry.

Co-founded by Wilson, a prominent and sometimes controversial leader in the field, Passage Bio went public in early 2020, and by June of that year its shares had soared above $700 apiece. But a downturn in the biotechnology market and a pullback in enthusiasm about gene therapies in particular hurt Passage Bio, which focuses on neurodegenerative diseases.

In 2022, the company cut jobs and reduced spending. More recently, it faced a regulatory setback developing a therapy for a rare form of dementia, and announced it was considering strategic alternatives including a merger. Shares of Passage Bio traded at less than $4 early Thursday.

The decision to combine with Remix offers “compelling value for Passage Bio stockholders,” Passage Bio CEO Will Chou said in the companies’ statement. Remix CEO Peter Smith will run the new company and Remix’s directors will populate the board, along with Peter Colabuono of Decheng Capital, which is leading the private financing.

Remix’s lead therapy, “REM-422,” is being tested in Phase 1/2 studies for acute myeloid leukemia, high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and adenoid cystic carcinoma. The company’s technology has drawn interest from large drugmakers; Johnson & Johnson entered a collaboration with Remix in 2022 and Roche struck a partnership with the company in 2024.