New York gene ther­a­py start­up Neu­ro­gene eyes $200M from Ne­oleukin Nas­daq swap

Ne­oleukin Ther­a­peu­tics has found its re­verse merg­er part­ner about four months af­ter putting up the for-sale sign, as the Seat­tle biotech gives way to a Big Ap­ple start­up mak­ing AAV gene ther­a­pies.

The IL-2 biotech, af­ter se­vere lay­offs last year and again this year, will hand the Nas­daq keys to clin­i­cal-stage Neu­ro­gene in an all-stock deal, the com­pa­nies said Tues­day morn­ing. It’s the lat­est in a string of re­verse merg­ers, in which a list­ed biotech serves as the path for a pri­vate drug de­vel­op­er to go pub­lic with­out hav­ing to en­dure the frigid IPO wa­ters of the past two years.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER