March 18 Quick Takes: SPAC Revolution, Idera, Translate tumble; plus Anima-Takeda, Boston-GSK, Accelmed, Gain IPO and more
$500M IPO for SPAC backed by Arch, General Catalyst, Leiden
Blank-check company Revolution Healthcare Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:REVHU) raised $500 million in an initial public offering through the sale of 50 million units at $10, with each unit consisting of one share and one-fifth of a warrant to purchase a share at $11.50. The special purpose acquisition company’s sponsors are General Catalyst and Arch Venture Partners, and its chairman is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) Executive Chairman Jeffrey Leiden. Revolution said it intends to “invest in an innovator or innovators focused on building a company in the healthcare space.”
Anima, Takeda team up on mRNA therapies
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502; NYSE:TAK) continued its string of recent deals by partnering with Anima Biotech Inc. to discover and develop mRNA translation modulators for genetically-defined neurological diseases. Anima is eligible for up to about $120 million in upfront and preclinical milestones, $1.1 billion in clinical and commercial milestones and royalties. The deal includes the New Jersey mRNA company’s early Huntington disease program against HTT and two additional targets picked by Takeda; an option could expand the deal with up to three more targets, with Anima eligible for $1.2 billion, plus royalties...