The merger creates a combined company that will operate as GRI Bio and will focus on advancing the pipeline of Natural Killer T (NKT) modulating therapies for the treatment of inflammatory, fibrotic and autoimmune diseases
GRI Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company. (Credit: Drew Hays on Unsplash)
US-based biotech firm GRI Bio has completed its previously announced merger with Vallon Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of CNS disorders.
Under the terms of the agreement, GRI Bio has acquired the entire outstanding equity interests of Vallon, through a reverse triangular merger, with GRI Bio as sustaining entity.
In connection with the merger, Altium Capital has agreed to invest about $15m, of which $2.5m was previously invested and an additional $12.25m was invested before the closing.
The combined company will use the proceeds to fund the further development of GRI Bio’s NKT development pipeline targeting multiple inflammatory, fibrotic, and autoimmune indications.
In addition, Vallon’s shares will start trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market, on a post-reverse split-adjusted basis, under the ticker symbol ‘GRI’, effective 24 April 2023.
GRI Bio’s new chief executive officer Marc Hertz said: “This marks a transformational moment for the company and an important step into what we believe is a bright future for the company.
“With the completion of the merger and concurrent investment, we are well positioned to realize multiple upcoming catalytic clinical and regulatory milestones that we believe will drive value in the near and long term.”
GRI Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the treatment of inflammatory, fibrotic, and autoimmune diseases by targeting NKT immune cells.
The company’s lead candidate, GRI-0621 is a small molecule RAR-βɣ dual agonist that inhibits the activity of human Type I, or invariant, NKT (iNKT) cells.
Oral dosing of GRI-0621 in the in-vitro studies and 28 days after dosing in the GRI-0621-201 study showed that the drug inhibits iNKT cells and improves fibrosis in multiple disease models.
The company intends to conduct a Phase 2a biomarker study of GRI-0621 for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with data expected in the second quarter of 2024.
GRI Bio is also developing GRI-0803, a novel activator of human Type 2 NKT cells, for the treatment of autoimmune disorders with an initial focus on systemic lupus erythematosus.
The biotech company plans to launch a Phase 1 study of GRI-0803, this year.
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. served as the exclusive financial advisor and Thompson Hine as legal counsel to Vallon Pharmaceuticals on the transaction.
Evolution Venture Partners served as the exclusive strategic advisor, while Ecoban Securities Corp. and Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, served as legal counsel to GRI Bio.