Oct 26 (Reuters) - Obesity drug developer Corxel Pharmaceuticals will go public in the US through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Amanat Acquisition Corp, the companies announced on Monday.
• The success of newer weight-loss therapies has spurred a wave of investments by biotechs looking to capture a slice of the fast-growing sector dominated by Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO> and Eli Lilly <LLY.N>
• Corxel is expected to receive roughly $377 million from the SPAC deal and concurrent private investment in public equity; institutional investors have committed $300 million to it
• The company is advancing oral product candidates; lead candidate CX11 is being developed for obesity, type 2 diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions, with work ongoing to advance it into late-stage development
• The deal is anticipated to close in the first half of 2027; the combined company will likely list on the Nasdaq
• A SPAC is a shell company that raises capital through an initial public offering and uses the funds to merge with or acquire a private company, taking it public without a traditional IPO
• Leerink Partners is serving as lead placement agent for PIPE financing, while Evercore ISI, Guggenheim Securities, Cantor and LifeSci Capital are acting as placement agents
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)