Biotech Acquisition Company, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company affiliated with SPRIM Global Investments, and Blade Therapeutics, Inc. (“Blade”), a biopharmaceutical company based in South San Francisco, Calif., announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), effective immediately.
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As required by Cayman Islands law, BAC will convene the previously postponed extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. As previously announced, the extraordinary general meeting will occur at the offices of Ellenoff Grossman and Schole LLP located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Floor, New York, New York, 10105 and virtually.
As a result of the termination of the Merger Agreement, at the extraordinary general meeting, BAC intends that none of the proposed resolutions to approve the Merger Agreement and the related resolutions will be put forward for consideration and approval by BAC’s shareholders and that the extraordinary general meeting will be adjourned indefinitely. In light of the termination of the Merger Agreement, the proposed business combination will not be concluded and any ordinary shares submitted for redemption will not be redeemed at this time and will be returned to the respective holder, broker or bank in the manner described in the definitive proxy statement for the extraordinary general meeting. BAC intends to continue to pursue the consummation of a business combination with an appropriate target. Additional information about the termination of the Business Combination will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by BAC with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.
Michael Shleifer, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of BAC, co-founder and managing partner of SPRIM Global Investments said, “We wish Blade continued success as they continue to develop cutting-edge science and a clinical-stage pipeline targeting diseases that remain undertreated. BAC remains committed to finding a life-sciences partner that can deliver value for our shareholders.”
Wendye Robbins, M.D., president and CEO of Blade said, “Blade remains focused on our development plans, particularly for our company’s differentiated lead asset, cudetaxestat, a non-competitive autotaxin inhibitor which is expected to enter a planned phase 2 clinical study in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.”