Tectonic Completes Reverse Merger With Avrobio, Starts Trading on Nasdaq
AcquisitionGene TherapyPhase 2
Pictured: Nasdaq headquarters in New York City/iStock, JHVEPhoto
Tectonic Therapeutic completed its reverse merger with Avrobio on Thursday, with plans to begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TECX.
The biotech also completed a $130 million private placement with a group of new and existing investors, concurrent with the reverse merger. The fresh capital plus cash on hand are expected to fund operations into mid-2027.
“We believe we are strongly positioned to enter the public markets at this time, with a solid financial foundation, investor syndicate and leadership team, and with several potential catalysts over the next two years, setting the stage for meaningful value creation,” Tectonic CEO Alise Reicin said in a statement.
Tectonic is developing GPCR-targeted therapeutic proteins for indications currently underserved by small molecule treatments. Its GEODe platform is intended to overcome the common challenges of GPCR-targeted biologics.
The new company will take Tectonic’s lead program into a Phase II trial for a population of Pulmonary Hypertension patients in the second half of this year. TX45 is a fusion molecule that activates the GPCR target of the hormone relaxin.
Relaxin had been considered a “wonder drug” for cardiovascular benefits, but previous studies have failed to produce those benefits in the clinic. Tectonic believes its protein engineering has potential to overcome those limitations to develop relaxin as a therapeutic.
A clinical candidate is being selected for its second program to treat hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) later this year, with studies commencing by the end of 2025 or start of 2026. HHT is the second most common genetic bleeding disorder. The program has first-in-indication potential.
Prior to the merger, Avrobio was focused on curative Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) gene therapies. After announcing positive Phase I/II results in May 2023, the company sold its HSC gene therapy program for cystinosis to Novartis in June of that year for $87.5 million. In January 2024, Avrobio announced it was halting program development and exploring strategic alternatives including a merger.
As part of the closing of the merger with Tectonic, Avrobio exercised a 1 for 12 reverse stock split of its common stock. With the closing of the merger, prior Avrobio stockholders own approximately 24.8% on a diluted basis and prior Tectonic stockholders hold approximately 75.2% of the combined company's outstanding common stock on a diluted basis.
Kate Goodwin is a freelance life science writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. She can be reached at kate.goodwin@biospace.com and on LinkedIn.
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